Promise
by Alison Ocean
Summary: "Chihiro's hand tightened unconsciously over his. 'Promise' She looked up, her eyebrows drawn together in seriousness. He looked back evenly; assuredly. 'Promise. Now go – and don't look back.' 'Haku! NO' Chihiro bolted up in bed, her hand shooting out in front of her and knocking the vase of flowers off of her bedside table. Her hand shook." UPDATED CH.14!
1. Chapter 1

**1.**

"Don't worry, I got my name back." Happy, pure smile; green eyes flashing in the midday sun.

"Will we meet again sometime?"

"I'm sure we will."

Chihiro's hand tightened unconsciously over his.

"Promise?" She looked up, her eyebrows drawn together in seriousness. He looked back evenly; assuredly.

"Promise. Now go – and don't look back."

Chihiro flew down the stone steps in a rush. She tripped on the last one and nearly fell face-first into the satiny green grass the swayed gently up to her knees. She quickly regained her balance, and was self-conscious enough to pray that Haku hadn't noticed her clumsiness. It would be her luck that his last sight of her would be her nearly flattening her nose after tripping over nothing but her own feet. It would be a poor last memory.

Wait – last memory? She would surely see Haku again, wouldn't she? At that thought, suddenly a maniacal, anxious fear clawed its way up Chihiro's throat. The sun still shined blindingly in the sky, yet the world around her grew dark and ominous, as if a thick veil was blocking her vision. The shadows stretched and morphed beneath her feet, and she felt the sudden, desperate urge to turn around. She needed to see Haku; she needed to tell him something – that he was in danger! In danger from what? She didn't know, but she heard a long scream of terror coming from behind her. The voice could only belong to Haku. Chihiro tried to spin around and race back to the steps, but the shadows surrounding her suddenly became physical, undulating creatures made up of oozing black slime. The disgusting goo sucked at her feet like quicksand, leaving her immobile. When she whipped her head around, searching for Haku in the blackness, sticky black fingers clamped over her eyes, making it impossible to see.

"Haku!" She screamed, fighting blindly against the black muck that seemed to be seeping into her bloodstream, turning it to sludge and making her movements thick and heavy with each breath she took.

"Chihiro!" She could barely hear his voice – it sounded soft, faint, and so, so far away.

"Haku…"she coughed as the air grew more and more difficult to breathe. Each expansion of her ribs was a struggle, and the slime contracted around her diaphragm like an anaconda with each exhalation.

"Haku, you promised! You promised that we'd be together again! I need you! I need to tell you –"

Suddenly the ground buckled beneath Chihiro's feet. The black slime, the field, and everything else disappeared, and she found herself plummeting down into a rich night sky. Stars swirled past and galaxies lit her descent, but Chihiro hadn't the heart to admire their beauty. Grasping at the air she writhed in the grip of a fiery agony, and screamed the only name that existed as loudly as she could.

"Haku! NO!"

Chihiro bolted up in bed, her hand shooting out in front of her and knocking the vase of flowers off of her bedside table. It crashed stridently to the floor, but she hardly noticed. Her hand, still outstretched, still reaching, was shaking like a leaf. Sweat dripped off her brow and onto the smooth cherry wood floor of her bedroom in her parents' apartment. For a moment all she could do was sit in bed, gasping, with her right hand clutching the air. Then she brought her knees up to her chest, folded her arms, and wept.

The weeping was soft and fragile, and short-lived. She had already cried enough tears to fill a basin, and it seemed with each event there were less and less to shed. Granted, tonight was slightly different from the rest – this nightmare had been more violent, and much more terrifying than most others she had experienced. Usually when she woke up from these dreams it was with a filling of intense sadness and regret – not fear. And the sadness was often more than enough to make her cry and wake up in a cold sweat. Haku's face, still young and sincere, rippled beneath her closed lids, like she was looking at his reflection in a pond. It was the face of the boy she'd met eight years ago, and the one she would never see again. The pain was like a lance in her belly, and Chihiro lowered her head in shame.

_After returning from_ the spirit world, and finding her parents, Chihiro's days had been filled with the longing to see Haku again – just to talk to him, to ask him how Yubaba, Zeniba, Boh, and Lin were doing. The Kohaku River was over 3 hours away by car, but each day for nearly a month after returning, Chihiro had been itching to go and visit, despite her parents' ultimate refusal to drive her. Finally, after four weeks of waiting, without a word – from the spirit world or otherwise – Chihiro had risked it all to go see him. Without telling her parents, she had skipped school, and used her lunch money (only about 1000 yen) to catch a street car out of the humid Niseko suburbs. Because she was only a small child, the operator had generously agreed to let her ride most of the way into the city for her small amount of money, but for policy's sake had had to let her off in the city's main square. Chihiro hadn't minded being forced out of the car, nor had she minded walking the 3 miles to the city's lower west district, where warehouses and poorly-kept apartment complexes dominated. She had grown up in the city as a little girl, and had known that each step that she took was bringing her closer to the Kohaku River, that ran from its mouth at the coast to a lake just outside of the city. Just a few short steps separated her from Haku. She hadn't realized fully until that last hour before reaching the river how quickly Haku had become everything in her life that represented home, family, and friendship all in one. He had worked his way into her child's heart and become her rock in uncertainty, as well as the person she most longed to see each morning and night. She was more than excited, and quickened her pace as she stepped into the last twisting alleyway separating her from the urban river.

Chihiro's breath had caught in excitement and she couldn't stop the smile that lit her face as she skidded around the last corner separating her from the Kohaku River's left bank.  
"Haku!" she yelled in joy as she smashed herself against the steel railing that lined the riverbed. Her voice had bounced back at her, hollow and void, as her eyes adjusted to the scene before her.

The early morning fog had swept in from the bay, covering everything with a bronze sheen. But beneath the glinting moisture was devastation below. The stone walls around the riverbed were still intact and the railings secure, but the river itself was dry; bone dry. Chihiro couldn't believe what she saw – she had scampered down the stone steps to the riverbed to get a closer look. The soil was not moist, nor were there any plants growing; all was dead and silent and still. Trash, boulders, and rubble had been discarded in piles along the riverbed, and broken glass littered the edges of the dry bed, making it a hazard to walk along them. Chihiro couldn't remember for certain whether it was tears or the heavy mist that had been clouding her vision, but before she knew it she was on her knees in the barren dirt and her hands were cut from catching herself on the shards of broken beer bottles. Her blood mixed with the dry dust as her joy flew north on _swift, unrelenting wings._

Chihiro lifted her head and mopped her pale cheeks with her ratty, threadbare quilt as she relived the memory. Her parents had found her that day, bowed like a willow to the wind in the empty riverbed. Naturally, they'd been furious, but more than that concerned. They couldn't understand her deep, deep sorrow, nor could she explain it. Only she knew Haku – and only she knew that a river spirit could not possibly exist when his river had dried up completely. It didn't make any sense that he could survive without the source of his spirituality on earth. That day when she found that empty river, she had realized that her dearest friend was dead. And worse, it was all her fault.

It would have been better had she not ever visited the spirit realm – or if she'd just disappeared into nothingness instead of eating the realm's food. Then she never would have become friends with Haku, never would have helped him find his true name, and never would have given him a reason to leave the spirit realm and return to his river. If she hadn't done any of these things, Haku would still be alive and maybe, just maybe, she would have been able to figure out some way to get back to him on her own. But now it was all useless, anyways.

A small part of Chihiro had died that day, and even though life and love did go on, she never really felt that she had gotten that missing piece of her heart back. It had died with Haku, and with his river. From then on, eight long years later, no matter how cheerful her life became or how full of light, the dreams persisted once every few weeks, as a reminder of the one person she had lost along her journey. She had never gone back to that riverbed. And, she thought, her head hanging between her knees and her breaths shallow with fatigue, she never wanted to.


	2. Chapter 2

**2.**

"Chi! Chi? Chiiiiii!" a little voice squealed glibly. "Wake up, sleepyhead!"

Chihiro groaned and flung an arm over her face to block out the light streaming in from their 10th story window.

"Five more minutes." She mumbled.

"No, _now_! Get up, get up, _get up_!" Each word was accented with a little tug on the blankets, until they were all ripped away in one fell swoop. Chihiro yelped at the freezing cold air and curled into a tighter ball on the sheets.

"Yasume, quit it! _I mean it_."

"Get up now, or I'm gonna hit you!" Her little sister threatened. Chihiro's eyes popped open.

"You wouldn't."

The tiny 6-year-old's eyes narrowed at the challenge, and she crouched down, preparing to pounce on the bed like a little tiger.

"Yasume!" called a soft voice. Yasume froze, while Chihiro smiled sweetly at her.

"Yes, mama?"

"You had better not be fighting with your sister – you know the rules. You fight, you have to walk home from school with her instead of taking the bus." Yasume practically hissed in kitten-like frustration.

"_Yes mama, _I know!"

Chihiro gloated triumphantly.

"You were saying?"

"Just what a lazy sister you are." Yasume finished as she rolled her eyes and tramped away down the hall to brush her teeth. Chihiro smiled, and then stretched. She felt so stiff – she must have fallen asleep thinking about Haku. Then again, when _didn't _she fall asleep thinking about Haku? She sighed, and shook her head. Her life was hopeless. She stood up and blinked in the too-bright light shining through the window. What time was it? Spinning around, Chihiro saw her bedside clock reading 7:30. _7:30? A.M.?_ Chihiro counted on her fingers – it had been nearly 5 hours since she'd woken up from the nightmare, and it felt like she'd been asleep only 5 minutes! Frantically she rushed across her room, and tugged on her favorite skinny jeans as she hopped over to lock the bedroom door, to keep her little sister from sneaking in and making fun of her pink polka-dot underwear. Honestly, that kid could be such a pain!

Two minutes later and Chihiro's hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, with her straight, no-nonsense bangs hanging sensibly over her well-formed eyebrows. She had chosen a peach-colored chiffon blouse with small buttons up the front to pair with her jeans (cuffed on the bottoms, just as she liked) and a pair of chunky, brown leather boots. They weren't particularly ladylike, but she liked them – they reminded her of what an ancient huntress might wear, and the soft leather was very comfortable, with three aged buckles helping the boot hold well to her unusually tiny feet. After brushing her teeth thoroughly, she added a few dashes of mascara to accent her eyes, the pupils of which held the same oak brown as the boots she wore. Then she added a little blush to her cheeks and a generous layer of chapstick to her pink lips. Satisfied, she grabbed her book bag off of the desk and marched out the door – and straight into her sister.

"But mama, I don't want tooooo." Yasume whined loudly from where she stood in the middle of the hallway, slowly inching her way closer to Chihiro's bedroom door.

"No buts." Chihiro's mother responded, spooning oatmeal from a plastic yellow bowl into Yasume's open mouth, and coincidentally stopping her next complaint.

"What's happened, what's wrong?" Chihiro asked, looking from grumpy sister with oatmeal oozing from her mouth to mother with permanent worry lines etched to her forehead.

"What's happened is, it's _8:00_." Her mother answered, looking at her directly. "And the bus has left." Chihiro groaned, but her mother didn't seem to hear. Usually missing the bus meant having to use allowance money to pay for cab fare to both Yasume's elementary school and the integrated high school that Chihiro attended. She had been laid off from her job at the school's after-hours café, and was now becoming seriously low on spending money. But her mother surprised her – and not an easy thing to do, that. After looking at Chihiro long and hard, ignoring Yasume's, protests, her mother walked slowly over to her purse and pulled out a small silver object dangling from a chain – a key. Chihiro had never heard Yasume to shut-up so quickly.

"Take Yasume to school in your father's car." She held out the key on a flat palm. Chihiro balked.

"But, er…you want me to drive dad's car? While he's at work?"

"You're plenty old enough – it's about time your father and I started trusting you with the family car. You may have to use it when we're not here, and you can't walk _everywhere_, Chihiro." She smiled a little at the end.

"Yeah, I don't wanna walk!" Yasume chimed in. Her hungry eyes had not left the shiny key since their mother had pulled it out.

"Well, um…" Chihiro gulped. "O-…okay, I guess. Come on, Yasume." Robotically, she handed her sister her yellow bumblebee backpack, grabbed her driving license off the kitchen counter, and ushered Yasume out the front door before shutting it quietly behind them.

"_Daisy, daisy, give me your answer, do…"_ Yasume drummed her feet on the back of the driver's seat in tune with her song.

"Hey, stop it!" Chihiro squeaked. Her voice always became high pitched when she was stressed. Still, she couldn't help but giggle when, before stopping, Yasume gave the back of the chair one final shove.

"Hey, we're here – get out!" Chihiro jerkily pulled up to the sidewalk in front of the elementary school. There was a pause from the backseat. Then Yasume poked her head up and gave Chihiro a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You're a real good driver, Chihiro. Don't worry about it – if dad gets mad, he's a poopy-head." Chihiro gasped.

"Yasume! Don't say that –" But she was already out of the car, and dashing up the steps to the school. Her dark brunette hair bounced playfully on its long ringlet curls, and her blue eyes shined in the morning light. Chihiro had always thought that her surprise baby sister was so much prettier than her – and it was proving to be true each year she grew. Before going in she turned around and gave a big smiley wave, which Chihiro couldn't help but return sheepishly.

Slowly she put the car into drive, and was just beginning to pull out of the parking lot when a Honda zoomed past, nearly taking off her right rearview mirror and honking like a maniac. She gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from shrieking in surprise. _It's ok Chihiro – you're still alive. _She took a deep breath, and then slowly, _carefully_ pulled out into open traffic.

Chihiro had been going to the integrated high school since her ninth year, and it did have its perks – one of them being a without-fee parking garage for all enrolled students and faculty. The parking lot was set up, as most were in the city, like a great spiral going upwards. A massively large (and far too Las Vegas-looking) fountain graced the center of the spiral. It had been a lavish gift to the school board for their students' and faculty's tireless volunteer work in cleaning up the area's coastal shores, as well as its rivers ( those that hadn't already run dry, of course). Ironically enough, the fountain spewed pure, Atlantic seawater, pumped directly from the ocean. It was the kind of thing that Chihiro rolled her eyes at every time she passed it by. _Stupid piece of junk – wasting all that water. _She grumbled internally as her father's sedan groaned its way up the parking lot spiral. All the spots near the bottom were, naturally, already taken. Hopefully she wouldn't have to go all the way to the top…

Her thoughts were interrupted when, suddenly, a sleek, black SUV came screeching down from the next floor, heading straight towards her! The driver honked loudly, and Chihiro yanked the wheel to the right and stomped on the gas. She was barely able to clear the way before the massive gas-guzzler sped past, leaving behind a terrified seventeen-year-old and a cloud of thick exhaust fumes. Shaking, Chihiro rested her head on the wheel and breathed hard. _That was a close one. _She lifted her head.

"Is everyone in Niseko trying to kill me today?!" She shouted in aggravation. This was just her luck – the one day she's given the responsibility of driving the family car, and all traffic hell breaks loose. She pushed the gear into drive and turned back into her lane, and continued the slow ascent. The bubbling fountain gurgled from her left – mocking her with its absurdity. She rolled the car around the next bend – she was now on the parking lot's fifth level. She spied a single parking space just before the next corner. _Ah, finally! _Perhaps one of the staff members had left early. She was inching towards the space when a small, white car pulled around the corner, coming her direction. _Oh no, not another one. _

Quickly, Chihiro pulled her car over to the far side of her lane, up against the cement railing that separated her from the fountain and a 5-story drop. She waited, but the white car simply stalled in the middle of the path, as if it were watching her. She squinted, but couldn't see a driver from behind the tinted windshield. Suddenly, the driver gassed it. Chihiro had no time to react as the white sedan smashed into her passenger's side at 40 miles per hour. The force sent her car careening crazily over the edge of the railing, and herself rocketing from the driver's seat and out the busted-open car door. The air whistled past her as she waited for the impact of her body hitting the cement floor of the garage. The last thought she had was what a stupid, stupid way to die – falling five stories to her death at the foot of a giant seawater fountain.


	3. Chapter 3

**3.**

"Chihiro! Chihiro, answer me!"

Someone was shaking her. Smooth, long-fingered hands grasped her shoulders and shook her from side to side like a doll. Chihiro's eyes cracked open the tiniest fraction. Everything above was blurry, and the sound of rushing water almost blocked out the sound of her head pounding. _Am I dead?_

"Chihiro?"

There was a flash of green, and then everything went black.

It felt like hours later that Chihiro woke up to darkness. Her head was pounding like a steam engine, and when she rolled over a splitting pain ran its way up her side. She gasped and fumbled around for a light. Her searching hands encountered a small bedside table, a glass vase filled with flowers, and a small alarm clock. Chihiro froze. She was in her room, in her bed. How on _earth _did she get here? She massaged her aching temples, trying to remember. She remembered getting hit by that car – and thinking that she was going to die. As the reality of the experience sunk in she started shaking violently.

"It's ok – you're ok." She chanted to herself as she rocked back and forth on her quilt. It wasn't helping. She felt her torso and head carefully for injuries, then wiggled her toes and flexed each muscle. Her side wasn't bandaged, but it felt like the pain she'd felt was caused by a deep bruise on the right. And most confusing of all was the distinct smell of…saltwater. Her clothes felt wet, and her hair moist and frizzy. She sniffed her shirt, dazed. It smelled like she'd just taken a swim in the ocean. She reached up and flicked on her overhead lamp to be sure. A pair of vibrant, clover-green eyes met hers in the light.

"Chihiro" His smile of greeting was thin and didn't reach his eyes. He stood from where he'd been sitting at her oak writing desk and extended is hand formally. "Hello, again."

For a moment Chihiro just stared at him. She could feel her eyes getting impossibly wide, but couldn't do anything to stop it. Then, even worse, her eyes began filling impossibly fast with tears. Haku's already-dead smile turned into a confused grimace as she continued to sit, staring at his open palm, her eyes slowly misting over. Then, in one fluid movement she tore from the bed, smacked his hand away and threw her arms around him instead.

He was so _tall_. Taller than she'd imagined – she'd clasped her arms around his neck, but had to reach up on tiptoes to press her cheek against his. She opened her mouth to speak but instead a ragged, _loud _sob burst forth. She felt like the little girl crying in a field of flowers, eating the sticky rice that Haku had given her to bring back her strength. Only now she was sobbing because he was here – his very presence filled a void that she'd never realized was so large and deep within her. She clutched him closer and sobbed, her shoulders shaking so hard she was amazed that he didn't lose his balance from the force of it.

Haku didn't move for a moment, and then Chihiro felt him carefully place his hands on her hips, almost as if he was afraid she'd become more hysterical at any physical response from him.

"It's ok – it'll be alright." He repeated his words from so long ago in that field, and though the tones of his voice had grown slightly deeper with age, she could still here the voice of the young boy that had selflessly taken her to see her parents that day. After a moment, and a few deep breaths, her tears quieted enough that she could ease away from him. He let her go willingly, as if he was uncomfortable with the contact. He tried to step back, put some space between them, but the back of his legs bumped against her desk, trapping him.

Chihiro noticed that he was wearing a sleek suit jacket, slacks, and tie, similar to a traditional Japanese high school uniform. In the back of her mind she wondered why he wasn't dressed in his clothing from the spirit realm. When she'd last seen him he'd been dressed in a white hakama with a blue shirt underneath, that had been tied with a violet sash. Now, seeing him in modern clothes, he looked so much older – and more handsome.

Haku shifted his weight infinitesimally. Chihiro quickly grabbed his hand, before he could move out of the corner he'd backed himself into, and clenched it stubbornly in hers as she looked up to study his face.

His hair was still the same inky black, and it hung around his olive-skinned face down to his broad shoulders. He no longer had thick bangs across his forehead, which made it much easier to see his large evergreen eyes and dark eyebrows.

"Haku" she said.

It didn't matter that this scenario made no sense. His name seemed to belong on her tongue, and her heart felt filled to bursting with happiness. She grinned hugely as she stared up at him, unabashed.

He didn't return the smile, but she saw a flicker of something deep in his eyes. Solemnly he placed the hand she wasn't holding in a death grip over her lips to stop any more words. He opened his own mouth to speak when the front door slammed open, shaking the walls of the apartment and surprising them both.

"_Chihiro!_" She heard her mother's voice from the foyer.

"_Chihiro, sweetheart, are you here_?"

Her rapid footfalls ran in a circle around the apartment, accompanied by the opening and closing to closet and bathroom doors, before they began heading towards Chihiro's bedroom. Now Haku's eyes were the ones growing incredibly wide, and he turned to Chihiro as if asking what to do.

"_Chihiro_!"

Chihiro looked around in panic, feeling the pressure. Her snug room felt suddenly claustrophobic, and she still hadn't let go of Haku's hand. She pointed at the sliding mirror doors on the far side of the small room.

"Er…there! Get in my closet!"

When he only stared, as if the very idea was less than palatable, she gave his hand a yank towards the closet's sliding door.

"Move it!"

Though his eyes narrowed skeptically, he obeyed by slipping quickly and silently into the closet like a wraith. As she took hold of the sliding door, Haku seemed to remember that they were still holding hands. He quickly untangled Chihiro's small, stubby fingers from his long, graceful ones. His eyes met hers for the tiniest second before he pushed her hands aside and slid the closet door smoothly shut. Chihiro spun just as her mother burst into the room in a flurry of shining hair and well-manicured nails.

"Mom!"

"Chihiro, where have you been – I got a call on the way back from work saying that your father's car was found crushed in the school parking garage! The officer said that there was no one in the car, so I came here to look for you. Chihiro, what are you doing here? What happened?"

Chihiro looked at her feet as her mind reeled with possible explanations. She went with the simplest one. She looked up and plastered the biggest expression of shock on her face.

"What? The _car _got_ crushed_? I had no idea!" She tried her best to look innocent, but her insides had suddenly turned to jelly. Now that Haku was no longer in view, she remembered that her head was pounding. And her side hurt. And she probably had a concussion. Great.

"Yes, sweetie, the officer said it was _crushed_. Where did you park in the garage? You know how burglars sometimes try and steal the top level cars. And how did you get home?"

"Why, what time is it?" Chihiro asked suddenly. It could be nine at night for all she knew – she was definitely going to grill Haku after this…

"It's 4 o'clock. Yasume gets out of school in an hour." Her mom chided.

Chihiro smiled abashedly.

"I, er, I got out of class early, because I don't work at the café anymore, remember? And I guess, I don't know – I just wasn't thinking. I, uh, actually took the streetcar home because I totally forgot that I had driven the car to school." She forced a chuckle, and it sounded like she was choking on something.

"Pretty funny, huh?"

Her mom's eyebrows rose. "Funny?"

Chihiro looked back at the floor.

"Yeah, uh, I mean, not funny at _all. _Not at _all._"

"But," she began, scrambling for a subject change. "Y-you said the police found it? Do they think it was a hit-and-run?"

Her mom sighed heavily, then came forward and gave her a hug.

"Yes, honey, they think it was – and I am so glad that you weren't there when it happened!" She pulled away to look at Chihiro closely. Then she leaned in and sniffed Chihiro's blouse.  
"Chihiro, you smell like…" she sniffed again, then raised her head. "Did you drive to the coast today?"

"Mom, no!" Chihiro quickly responded. "I…I tripped in the fountain when I was leaving the parking garage this morning."

"Oh" her mom replied, looking a little confused.

"So, did the cops say anything else?" Chihiro redirected.

"Oh, yes. The car, they said, was found in the garage, with one side completely crushed in, and the other hanging over the fifth floor railing – with the driver's door open! If you had been inside…" She trailed off, and her eyes zeroed in on Chihiro, who had to struggle to keep her face composed. _So that really did happen_ _– the accident, the car,_ _everything. _The air was suddenly a little harder to breathe. The pulse in her head accelerated. The edges of the room began to twist and squiggle over one another like worms.

"What happened to your face?"

Chihiro blinked and pulled her focus back to the present.

"What?"

"Your face!" Her mother accented her words by poking just above Chihiro's right temple. Chihiro hissed at the pain as stars danced in front of her eyes.

"Ouch, mom!"

"Here, look." Her mother turned her around to face the sliding mirrors of her closet. Chihiro felt her face turn red. _Don't think about who's hiding in your closet, don't think about who's hiding in your closet…_

"You see it?"

Up high on the right side of her forehead, just below the hairline, a round, purple bruise was blossoming. Along with a nasty-looking lump. Chihiro stared for a second.  
"I-I, I guess…um" she stammered. "I, uh, I walked into a door frame. Yeah, I walked into a door frame."

That sounded pretty believable. She met her mom's eyes unflinchingly. "At school."

Her mother sighed and shook her head, but she was smiling with relief.

"Well, at least that's not as bad as what could have happened if you'd been in the _car_."

"Hehe, _yeah_." Chihiro's giggle had a bit of a hysterical edge to it, but her mom didn't seem to notice.  
"Well" her mom exhaled as she straightened her blouse and stepped away, towards the door. "I guess I have to go call your father – he's not going to be happy about this. _Some people_…" She walked out the door murmuring something about carjackers under her breath. Chihiro really didn't want to hear anything about carjackers, or vandals, or creepy white sedans for a very long time. She shut the door quickly and then fell against it, letting out her breath in a whoosh. She landed ungracefully on her tailbone and grunted. She closed her eyes for a moment and brought her hands up to massage her fragile temples.

"Chihiro, we have to talk."

Chihiro's eyes snapped open. Haku was kneeling close beside her, and his face was only a breath away.

"GAH!" Startled, she pushed away from him and rammed into the wall.

"Owwww…" she whined and cradled the back of her head and began rubbing the sore spot.

All she heard from Haku was silence, so after rubbing the back of her head a couple times, she peeked up at him. His face was serious, eyes unreadable.

"_Now_." He bit off the word.

Chihiro couldn't understand his tone or his expression. A sharp sting of pain poked her chest as she looked into his stony eyes, followed almost immediately by a spark of anger.

"Wait a second! I have some questions for you, you know! Right now!" As she spoke she pushed herself to her feet. Haku's right hand twitched in her direction but he quickly pulled it back and stood where he was. Then he paced away from her to the other side of the room.

"Hey!" She yelled, much too loudly. Chihiro had never been one to anger quickly, but she'd been nearly killed, inexplicably transported to her house, and seen a _ghost_ – all in the past two hours – and he was trying her last nerve.

"How did you –" she began, but suddenly her legs turned to water and a loud roaring filled her ears. Losing her train of thought, she laid a clammy hand on the wall for support. The only time she'd ever fainted in her life was when she was five and had accidentally inhaled half of a stick of strawberry pocky. She couldn't remember the incident very clearly, but physically this felt like it could be leading up to a faint.

"First," he cut her off as he turned to face her. However, he stopped whatever he was about to say when he saw her face. Chihiro wasn't sure what he saw there, but after one look he said the first sincere thing she'd heard from him since waking up to him in her room.  
"You need to sit down."

"Yep, I...do." Chihiro murmured. Her knees buckled on the last word. She heard no sound of approach, but suddenly Haku was there, kneeling beside her.

"Put your arm around my neck." He commanded. Chihiro obeyed silently. It was either obey or stay on the floor and talk up to him.

"That's it." He tentatively wrapped his right arm around her waist and lifted her off the floor. She leaned on him heavily and began shuffling towards the bed, but after a couple slow steps, Haku swept his other arm beneath her knees and lifted her clear off the floor.

"Sorry!" Chihiro blurted, feeling as if her slowness was somehow to blame for him feeling like he had to carry her to the bed.

He took three steps and dropped her hurriedly on to the mattress. He then took about five steps back, and sat at the desk chair. He seemed suddenly very interested in examining the window set in the far wall. It looked out on the single apartment complex next door to theirs, and the green hills beyond that, too unstable to build structures on, yet lovely to look at. Chihiro's eyes followed him, and she slowly sat up on the bed.

"Haku, will you look at me?" Steely eyes looked up. Chihiro gulped, momentarily intimidated. _He's my friend._ She had to remember that. Even if she didn't quite know what was going on with him, that much was true. She continued.

"How did you get here? How did _I _get here? What happened today at my car? Do you know?" She hardly noticed her voice rising in pitch with each question. Tears started forming on her lids.  
"What are you doing here? Why haven't you visited? How are you –" She hiccupped, then swallowed. "How are you _alive_?" Her voice cracked a little on the last word. She kept her eyes fastened on him, though the tears made him slightly blurry. She blinked to clear her eyes.

Haku said nothing, but his expression changed.

"Chihiro, calm down."

"Don't tell me to _calm down_! Haku, your…your river. The Kohaku River, outside Niseko. It's…it's all dried up." Her eyes begged answers.

Haku sighed lightly, but when he looked back up at her, a corner of his mouth turned up in a smile. It was pretty adorable-looking.

"I know. It dried up years ago. But, even though it was my home, it's not so bad that it dried up, really. Now I can go anywhere I want."

Chihiro stared questioningly when he didn't continue. Haku cleared his throat.

"I, um…now that I don't have a river to belong to, I can go where all rivers eventually go – the ocean. Wherever the ocean is, I can be, too. It's a trick I've been working on to navigate between the human world and the spirit realm."

The room went dead-silent, before Chihiro spoke.

"Really. And how long have you been using this…power to get around? A week? A month? I know that there's a lot of ocean around here, but –"

"Almost five years." He answered promptly.

Again the room was absolutely still. Then Chihiro ripped off the bedcovers, took five determined steps, and slapped him across the face.

"Hey! You can't do that –" Haku started. He stood up quickly so he towered over her, holding his red cheek.

"Yes I can!" Chihiro replied angrily. "What the hell, Haku? I found your river – I found it all dried up eight years ago! I thought that when _river _spirits lost their _river _that they died! And here you've been floating around on the ocean for all these year and you never _once _came to visit me!

She stepped away from his daunting form. His eyes bored into hers, and he stood completely still in his anger. He was dark and intimidating, but she swallowed her fear to continue.

"I was worried about you! What ever happened to us being friends? You were my _best _friend Haku, and _now_…I don't even know who you are, now!" She stood there panting at the end of her outburst. Haku stared at her and she kept staring right back. After a moment he looked down. Chihiro had the grim satisfaction of holding out the longest. It was short-lived though. Seeing his reaction, she was immediately filled with guilt. His profile was illuminated by the soft afternoon light that had broken through the cloud cover outside. He looked…sad. And tired.

He exhaled in a huff, and bowed his head. His black hair came forward and hid his face, and she could barely make out his low voice.

"This is too dangerous. I should have stayed away."

"Chihiro, what's all that racket in there?" Chihiro's head whipped to her door at the sound of her mother's voice. Haku didn't even flinch.

"Nothing, mom, just talking to myself!"

"Huh?" a pause "I just got off the phone with your father – you need to go pick up Yasume _right now_. It's almost five! You can take my car."

"I…" Chihiro started in a loud voice, then looked to where Haku stood, head dipped in shame. She turned back to the door, torn. When she turned back to him, he had straightened and was looking at her.

"You should go."

"But, Haku – I mean, I'm sorry that I – "

"It's ok." Thin smile. "I'll just be here when you come back. Then we can talk about everything."

She hesitated, unsure. Something didn't feel right about his sudden change in tone. He grabbed her elbows lightly and turned her towards the door. He gave her a gentle push.  
"Don't worry, Chihiro. Go."

"Er…okay." She finally decided to herself. _Somebody _had to pick up the little angel.

"Coming mom! I'm going right now!" She grabbed her coat off its hook by the door.

"Ok, I have the keys!" Her mom called from the hallway. Before opening the door, Chihiro turned. Haku was still standing in the exact same place. Chihiro thought she saw his hand twitch a little towards the window, but when she blinked it didn't look like it had moved at all. _Yes, I probably have a concussion_.

"Haku, just stay here! Don't leave, ok?" She whispered as she rushed out, closing the door behind her. All the way to the elementary school and back, it bugged her that she hadn't heard his answer.

Chihiro came home that night with her little sister. She helped her with her homework in the living room while her father was on the phone with the mechanic. Before she could slip away to her room, her mother asked her to set the table, and the family sat down for dinner together. Afterwards, when she tried to escape again, her parents roped her and Yasume into doing the dishes before bed. It was nearly eight at night when Chihiro finally slunk away from the rest of her family to the sanctuary of her room. She tiptoed into the room and closed the door completely before turning around. When she did, there was nothing to meet her eyes. Her bed was empty, though the sheets had been folded over and the pillows arranged neatly. Her desk chair, also, was vacant.

Chihiro stood for a moment, dazed, before stumbling to the closet and throwing the doors open. It felt like something in her mind just wasn't clicking – Haku couldn't just _not_ be here… They'd spoken in this very room just a few hours before!

"Haku?" she whispered. "Haku, are you in the closet?"

She searched the whole closet twice before crawling out on her hands and knees. She looked about the room one last time. A thin shaft of September moonlight illuminated a folded piece of paper on her desk. Chihiro realized she must have been so busy looking for Haku that she'd missed it when she first came in. She snatched the paper up and unfolded it.

Chihiro-

I know that I came into your life today without any explanation or empathy for you, and I must now leave the same way. Earlier today, I thought that you might be in trouble because of me. Now I realize that it was just a freak accident that brought me to you, nothing suspicious. I'm sorry that I made you angry. I'm sorry that I haven't visited. Know that I've always wanted to, but it is too dangerous for both of us. I hope that you live a happy life in the human world. I won't be visiting again.

-Haku

The letter was written in clear handwriting, though Chihiro's shaking hands made some lines blur on the page, and she had to read some sentences twice. A chilly night breeze wafted through the open window and blew loose strands of chestnut hair across her eyes.

Chihiro sat for an immeasurable moment holding the paper in her hands. Then she very carefully folded the note, and placed it in her pocket for safekeeping. She dragged herself off the floor where she'd been kneeling, and curled up in a ball on her bed, clutching her pillow close. One thought in her mind seemed to smother all others. It choked them down until they died on the vine and Chihiro was left with only sadness for comfort.

_Haku is gone. _

Every nerve ending screamed.

_Forever._

In the long hours before her weary body finally succumbed to sleep, she had to fight down the vomit that threatened to rise with each ragged breath she took.


	4. Chapter 4

**Finished Ch.4! Yes, I know it's shorter than the last chapter. Still, it's vital. And don't worry - HAKU IS COMING BACK INTO THE STORY. VERY SOON. I promise!**

**4. **

"Chihiro? _Chihiro_!"

"Ah! What?!" Chihiro looked up from her ramen soup. She'd been staring into the bowl, contemplating the significance of the squiggly noodles, when somehow her train of thought had drifted back to Haku, and the last time she'd seen him. It had been over three weeks since that fateful night. Her father's wrecked car had been replaced with a sleek, new model; no harm done. Chihiro's heart, on the other hand…

"Did you hear what I said? Catherine told me that _Akira _wants to ask you out!" Chihiro's best girl friend Jirou looked at her expectantly.

"You're gonna say yes, right? Or…not? Chihiro? Hello?" She waved her hand in front of Chihiro's face. Chihiro grabbed it and frowned at her. She knew Catherine – she was an exchange student from America, one of many at the high school.

"How would Catherine know that?" she asked.

Jirou shrugged and took a bite of her sushi. "Just cuz she's American doesn't mean she doesn't hear things. I mean, everyone at school knows that he likes you." She grinned devilishly. "_Everyone _saw how close you two danced at the Spring Semester Ball last year."

Chihiro gasped in embarrassment. "You shut your mouth! We _didn't dance that close_!"

Jirou rolled her eyes. "Of course you didn't. And I'm Beyonce."

"Oh come on!" Chihiro griped. "We didn't _do_ anything! He just asked me for a dance, and I'd just broken up with Daichi, and he'd just broken up with Sanyen…it was nothing!"

"Mmmmhmmm." Jirou munched on a carrot stick. Chihiro scratched her wrist as an excuse to look down.

"Besides, I would never date him. He's pig-headed, and far too…I don't know. Egotistical? For me, at least."

"Well, I mean, Chihiro, he's like, the most eligible Japanese boy at this school right now and he's interested in _you_. You should totally roll with this – give the guy a chance!" When Chihiro didn't answer, she poked her shoulder.  
"Unless…you're still thinking about that mystery boy." When Chihiro's head snapped up she grinned.

"You're _always _daydreaming about him, aren't you?"

"_No!_"

Jirou gave her a sympathetic smile. She was clearly unconvinced.

Chihiro looked down as she lied.

"Actually, I really don't think about him much at all. I miss him, sometimes. But I'm pretty much over him." Jirou was silent, so Chihiro looked up.

"I mean, Jirou, you've _seen _me date people here. Why would I do that if I was still hung up over my _mystery guy_?"

Jirou wasn't looking at her, but across the quad. Chihiro followed her eyes.

"Well, I hope your being truthful, Chihiro, because here comes Akira right now."

"Chihiro. Jirou." Akira greeted them formally, and bowed his head politely.

Jirou clapped her hand over her mouth to hide her massive grin. Chihiro blushed furiously, but managed a polite smile. "Hi."

Akira smiled then, flashing a row of perfectly straight, white teeth. "Hello, Chihiro. How are you?" He took a seat next to Chihiro on her side of the lunch table. His thigh, sheathed in brown slacks, brushed against hers. Even through her jeans Chihiro felt the heat, and scooted over slightly to give him some room. The masculinity was…a bit overwhelming. She found herself having some trouble looking him in the eye.

"I'm fine. How are you, Akira?"

"Doing well. Been having some trouble sleeping lately, actually."

Chihiro looked down at the table, instantly taken back to the number of sleepless nights she'd been subject to, as of late. Jirou kicked her under the table.

"Ouch! Er…that's too bad. Why have you had trouble sleeping lately?"

"Eh, I've mostly just stayed up thinking about this really pretty girl who goes to my school. She's so interesting, it's hard to go to sleep when I'm thinking about her."

Chihiro eyes bugged out of her head and she looked up at him the see if he was serious. He chuckled at her expression. His charcoal black eyes danced. They were a sweet contrast to his smooth skin, lightly tanned like a pacific islander's. Jirou choked on something she was eating, and then Chihiro heard her giggle hysterically.

"I'm just kidding, Chihiro. Lighten up!" Akira gave her a playful nudge. Chihiro smiled, though her mind was spinning. This boy was such a player, she didn't even want to be talking to him anymore. _It's hard to go to sleep when I'm thinking about her? _What a line. Still, her heart fluttered inside of her like a moth.

"Haha, ok Akira, I'll _try _to lighten up." She shot him a grin. He smiled back coolly. Jirou coughed conspicuously, and Chihiro took the opportunity to turn away from Akira to glare at her. Jirou smiled apologetically, looking from Chihiro to Akira. Chihiro could feel him watching her.

"So, what are you doing for your elective next quarter?"

"Um, I'm not sure." she answered honestly.

"You're not staying in Home Economics, are you?" Chihiro looked up to see Akira grimace in mock disgust.

"I like knitting and cooking – it's my spiritual gift." She retorted, but her smile was genuine.

"Actually, I think I am going to stay in Home Ec. It's my best class, anyways. What else would I do with my elective space?"

"Um, I don't know, maybe join another class? You could audition for band class - we need a soloist. I could play the piano, and _you_ could accompany me." He winked flirtatiously. Chihiro crinkled her nose.

"How do you know if I would even sing well? I could be _terrible_ for all you know, Akira."

He shrugged nonchalantly.  
"I don't know. From what I've seen, the prettiest girls always make the most beautiful singers." His eyebrows waggled up and down.

Chihiro couldn't hold it in. Putting her fist over her mouth, she gave way to hysterical giggles. The raging flames on her cheeks singed Akira's bangs as he grinned hugely and chuckled with her. He looked very pleased with himself that he'd finally made the practical Chihiro laugh like a little girl; the thought sobered her up a little. _He's just a flirt! Get _ahold_ of yourself!_

"So, I was wondering…" his voice interrupted her thoughts. He stopped suddenly, and looked at Jirou as if he'd just noticed her there.

"Jirou, would you mind terribly if I stole Chihiro for a moment." He leaned across the table and spoke in a loud whisper.

Jirou tried to look stern, but it was clear she was enjoying his act.

"Now, though I do trust you Akira, she _is_ my best friend. It's my job not to let her out of my sight."

Chihiro looked from Akira to Jirou.

"You guys, I'm right here!"

Both ignored her.

"I promise to give her back."

Jirou pretended to consider the matter seriously for a short second. Then she shrugged.

"Ok – she's all yours!"

"Yes!" Akira pumped his fist up and down like he'd just won a mahjong tournament. Chihiro stared, wide-eyed. Jirou shot her a sly look from beneath her lashes.

"Come on, it'll just take a minute."

Chihiro gaped.

"Ok."

Akira placed his left arm lightly around Chihiro's shoulders and guided her off the bench. He dropped his hand as soon as she was standing, but as they began to walk across the quad together, she had the creepy feeling that his arm was hovering just above her lower back. The idea made her flesh crawl, and she kept her eyes straight ahead, arms at her sides as they walked. He stopped at the edge of the grass and leaned casually against a Momiji tree.

"I was wondering if you were free, say, tomorrow? After school?"

Chihiro swallowed. "Uh, yes, I'm free. I mean, I'm not doing anything after classes."

Akira smiled. "Good."

He suddenly looked at the ground, as if momentarily unsure of himself.

"Because I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me to The Village." He looked up through his light brown lashes like a pleading puppy.

Chihiro steeled herself against those devastating eyes as she frantically tried to clear her thoughts. She couldn't date him, right? He was all wrong for her – a pretty boy, a player, _far _too sure of himself…

She shouldn't, and yet…she'd had her heart broken in two by the one person who was the role model to which she'd compared all of her boyfriends. Her relationships of the past had never lasted long because, eventually, those silly schoolboys had never measured up in her eyes.

Now (or more specifically, three weeks ago), that role model had proven to be nothing but a product of fantasy, and any connection she'd thought she had with Haku had, in the end, been nothing to him. At least not enough to make him stay with her. And not enough for him to provide her with any sort of explanation as to where he was or where he was going.

She needed to move on, and she needed to stop comparing every guy she met to her _mystery guy_. Her mystery guy was only in her head; the real man had moved on without her.

"Yes!" She blurted out.

"What?" Akira seemed honestly shocked.

"Yes, I would _love_ to go on a date with you."

Later that night, while safe in her room, with all of the house quiet and the family finally asleep, a silky shaft of moonlight washed over Chihiro's sleeping body. It illuminated her troubled face; eyebrows drawn together, lips pursed in a frown.

"Haku." she breathed softly.

In her dream, she was walking through a field thick with cherry blossom trees, all in full bloom. Haku came to stand close beside her, and tenderly took her hand. His face was unreadable, except his eyebrows were drawn in concern. Chihiro opened her mouth to talk to him and tell him all that had happened with Akira today at school, and how much she still missed him. But when she tried to speak, no sound came out of her mouth. Her throat felt hollow and dry as parchment.

She met Haku's eyes, terrified. Haku, however, didn't look offended or worried by her muteness. He seemed to somehow understand, without words, what she was feeling. Closing his eyes, he laid his forehead against hers. The action felt familiar, but Chihiro couldn't think of where she'd felt the contact before. His silky black hair caressed her cheeks and she leaned fully into his embrace, breathing deeply.

Chihiro woke trembling, and in a cold sweat. She didn't cry tonight – she merely stared out the window into the opaque sky, lit with low-hanging stars. She watched them change in shape and texture for almost an hour.

Ironically, as the first rays of dawn began to light the green hills outside of her window, Chihiro rolled over, closed her eyes, and was able to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**I think I just finished this chapter. Yeah!**

**5.**

Chihiro finished applying a second, thin streak of eyeliner, and looked in the mirror. An unfamiliar face stared back. Rosy red lips, unnaturally pink cheeks, all topped off with smoky chocolate brown eye shadow. It stared back at her like an unhappy circus clown, escaped from the tents. But, looking it over, she didn't think she could do any better than this.

Chihiro had never taken with makeup too well. She really didn't care so much what she looked like as long she'd managed to apply the stuff correctly. It had taken five tries (and a horrible set of smudged raccoon eyes) before she'd finally gotten her technique down with the eyeliner pencil. She practiced her smile in the mirror, and applied another layer of red lipstick. The creamy color was sticky; her lips rebelled against their new restrictions.

"Chihiroooooooo! Miki is herrrrrrrrrre!"

"Let her in, I'll be out in just a second!" Chihiro called from the bathroom. She took one last look at herself. She'd chosen a backless halter top in a black cherry red that brought out her deep chocolatey eyes. Also the sleeves showed off her delicate, long arms. She'd paired the top with dark jeans and her simple black ballet flats. The flats were actually leftover from the three whole ballet lessons she'd taken as an eight year-old. They still fit.

"Hi, Miki!" Chihiro waved as she passed the living room. She stepped into her room to grab her coat and tiny gold shell earrings, and took a quick look around the place. The wooden floor was clean and swept, the bed made. The window was locked tight.

"Here's 1900 yen in case you want to order pizza or something. And Miki, you have my cell phone number, right?"

"Yeah, don't worry! I got this all handled!" Miki drawled in her adopted Jersey accent. So far, she was Yasume's favorite babysitter. She lived just outside of Niseko and had all of her life, but loved to watch American television and try to mimic their accents. She was starting to rub off on Yasume, but Chihiro really didn't mind. She was a nice girl, and a good sitter. Also, Chihiro could hire her without calling her parents, which she had done tonight.

"So, where are your parents tonight, sugar?" Miki teased. It was like she could read minds. Chihiro looked at the family portrait hanging over the mantle.

"Ah, they had a big business meeting in the city – it sounded pretty serious. So now I have to go to Yasume's parent-teacher meeting."

"But you're not my parent." Yasume piped up. Chihiro looked down.

"I know, munchkin, but somebody has to show up and take good notes!"

"Oh. Lame." Miki said and then turned around and began tickling Yasume. The two gabbed on the floor as Chihiro grabbed her purse, gave Yasume a quick hug around the neck, and slipped out the door.

The Village was what teens called the new downtown area. In the past two years, a slummy handful of streets filled with apartment complexes and cheap restaurants had been renovated to include a deluxe movie theater, street car stations, and classy places to eat. It was one of the largest remodeling projects that the city had seen in years, and young people of all ages flocked to the new attractions. Chihiro had never visited The Village herself, but now Akira was waiting for her there. _I hope he has an umbrella!_ She thought as the wind tore through the street car she was riding, bringing with it a sheet of freezing rain. Chihiro shivered and burrowed deeper into her coat. The skies had only been overcast when she'd left her apartment, but now thunder rolled in the distance, and the workings of a real storm swirled in the atmosphere above the lit-up streets. Raindrops swarmed in the air like hornets, carried by the wind back and forth across the street.

Her streetcar lurched to a stop at the intersection of 5th and 17th, near the movie theater. Chihiro stepped off the car, and straight into a large puddle.

"Ah! Water!" She yelped and shook as much as she could out of her shoes.

"Haha, I take it you're not much of a swimmer." A suave voice chuckled. Chihiro looked up in embarrassment.

"Akira!"

He raised his hands.

"Guilty."  
Chihiro awkwardly grasped the hand he offered and sloshed her way out of the puddle, on to the slightly drier sidewalk. She quickly let go, though his fingers lingered on hers before he released her. The feeling was a little unsettling, but Chihiro ignored that. Any negative feelings were probably just nerves - she hadn't been on a first date in over a year, and hadn't exactly told anyone about this one.

Akira offered his arm and she took it, out of politeness. He was wearing a black dress jacket, a white cotton shirt underneath, with expensive-looking jeans and street sneakers. The jacket brought out his onyx eyes. Chihiro felt her heart flutter warmly. This wasn't _so _bad.

They walked past the movie theater towards a popular sushi restaurant. Chihiro was about to ask whether or not Akira planned on taking her there to eat, when she had the sudden feeling that she was being watched. Loosening her hold on Akira's arm, Chihiro leaned back and peered into the bushes at the front of an abandoned alleyway. She tried to look sneaky about it as they strolled past, but after a second Akira turned towards her.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, I just…" she trailed off, and her eyes darted back to the alleyway.

"I thought I saw something over there." Akira raised an eyebrow, and was about to turn and look when she stopped him.

"It's nothing – never mind." She smiled largely to make her point.

"Er…ok." He chuckled and kept walking.

"So, your parents didn't mind you going out on a Friday?"

Chihiro laughed nervously.

"W-why would they mind?"

Akira shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't know…beautiful girl, high school bad boy, Friday night. You know, I do have a bit of a reputation." He winked to let her know he was kidding. Chihiro giggled, surprising herself.

"A reputation for what? Acing all your piano exams?"

Akira laughed.

"Yes, perhaps."

When they walked past the sushi place, Chihiro looked at him questioningly.

"Where exactly are we going?"

Akira gave his signature modelesque smile.

"It's not too far from here – there's this place with the _best _noodles. I've been there a couple times. Then after we eat, we can go see a movie or something. My treat!"

Once they reached the street corner, Akira grabbed the streetlamp with one hand and swung Chihiro around. She threw back her head and laughed at the freedom welling up inside of her. It had been so long since she'd opened her heart fully to another person – no restrictions, no conditions. Akira was proving to be the best medicine for her recent heartbreak, and it felt _good_ to be here with him.

The street corner led them to a long, twisting alley way. It looked a bit intimidating, but Akira assured her that the restaurant was just at the end of the alleyway – that this was only a shortcut. He poked her for being scared, and assured her that he was a purple belt in rape whistle tactics. Chihiro pushed him at that comment, though she was laughing with him by the time they'd come around the first turn in the walled path. Her feet came to a stop.

"Did…did we take a wrong turn?" She asked in a voice that didn't sound like her own.

"No…why? What's wrong?" Akira asked.

Chihiro shook her head. This couldn't be the same alley way…though not much was distinguishable through the layers of spray paint caked on either wall. Still, it really wasn't possible. This must just be a similar alley way – there were lots of those in the city. No need to freak out – no need to hyperventilate. Chihiro tried to calm her breaths, when suddenly, she felt it. _Again_, the feeling that someone was watching her. She froze. It felt like something – or someone – was _breathing _on her. No, not breathing. It was like a fire was blazing just behind her and its hot, putrid fumes were wafting around her head. Her eyes felt the sandpaper sting of wood smoke, making them about to tear.

Chihiro spun around, her heart hammering in terror. There was nothing behind her but pitch blackness, penetrated only by the yellow halo of the last street lamp they'd passed. There was no fire, and no breathing. No creatures, monsters, humans, nothing. Chihiro let out a shaky breath and turned slowly back around. Akira was staring at her like she'd lost her mind.

"You, ah…you ready to go?" After a second of uncertainty, he extended his hand.

Chihiro managed a blasé-looking smile, like nothing at all unusual had just happened, and reached out to take his hand.

"Sorry, y-"

Her voice was drowned out as a loud blast of boiling hot air suddenly shot between them, knocking their hands apart. The blast echoed against the building walls like a gunshot. Chihiro was sent flying backwards into a wall. She crumpled to the ground, ears ringing, and her first thought was that the air smelled very much like smoke. Just after the thought her eyes began to tear, and she started coughing as she struggled to inhale the thick blackness surrounding her.

"Akira!" she shouted as she stood and reached her hands out.

"Over here!" she heard him yell. Stumbling, she felt her way along the walls around two more corners until the air was clear and breathable again. She found Akira leaning against the wall just before the last turn, panting like he'd run a marathon.

"What…what the heck was that?" He was shaking.

Chihiro was about to ask him the same question. Not sure herself, she improvised.

"I think it was just smoke coming out of a drain. Did you know that sometimes homeless people light fires down there for warmth? The smoke just comes right up!"

When Akira didn't say anything she stopped speaking. Her excuse sounded lame to her own ears, anyways. She really had no idea what that was, but was hoping that it wouldn't come back. She reached out and grabbed his arm with sudden urgency.

"Come on, let's go, now. Please?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here."

He kept pace with her as they rounded the corner. They exited on to a narrow sidewalk. The noodle shop was just a little ways to the right along the street. Its name, "Thai House Ramen", glowed brightly from a blue neon sign out front. The windows at the front were large and wide, and welcoming buttery yellow light and salty smells poured from within.

But instead of turning to walk towards the restaurant, Chihiro stepped off the sidewalk and crossed the street alone. She vaguely heard Akira calling her name from behind her, but walked onwards as if in a trance. She didn't see the road beneath her feet, or the sky above her. She almost wasn't sure where she was going, what exactly was calling her, until her hips rammed into iron bars. A long, familiar railing stretched out in front of her, waist-high. She knew that if she looked to the left, she would see a set of thick cement steps walking downwards into the massive trench. And though the night was too dark to see for certain, she could also guess that about 50 feet across, an opposite bank lined with railing was staring back at her in the blackness. Chihiro fought the sudden urge to wrap her arms around the railing and hold on tight for balance.

Eight years after finding it, she had been reunited with the dead Kohaku River.


	6. Chapter 6

**Started Ch.6. :) What do ya' think? TOLD you some more Haku was on the way!**

**6.**

Chihiro leaned against the cold rails separating her from the Kohaku's open trench of dirt and debris. The rain had started up again, pouring down hard and fast. It wet her cheeks where tears didn't and soaked through her coat. Thunder growled directly overhead, and for a moment Chihiro felt like she'd stepped into the eye of a super storm gathering. The weather reflected the turmoil going on in her own heart.

It didn't matter, really – it was just a dried up river. None of it mattered, technically. But what it all represented – the companionship she'd lost, and the weight she'd carried on her heart all these years – just came hurtling back to her all at once, and for a moment all she could do was stand there, breathing deeply; taking it all in. The air smelt of rain, iron, and wet soil. It was a nice smell. It gave her strength. The strength to straighten her legs and puff out her chest. The strength to let go of the rails. With one last inspiration, Chihiro turned away from the river to face the street.

Still across the street, Akira looked ridiculously worried about her mental health. Chihiro groaned. She would have a little bit of explaining to do tonight. But she was free. She felt closure deep inside. It wasn't perfect, and it wasn't without pain – but she knew right then that it was the closest she was ever going to get to having true peace about Haku and their relationship. He had left forever, now she needed to do the same. Move on, and let go. Chihiro straightened her shoulders.

She had just taken the first step towards Akira, away from Kohaku forever, when something dark and shadowy snaked out of the far alleyway. Chihiro froze and squinted. She couldn't quite make out the shape – it was serpentine, yet blurry; it seemed to be composed entirely of smoke. Suddenly, it was coming at her, _fast_. Chihiro didn't duck in time, and the snarling, hissing entity slammed into her. Her head snapped back as her back rammed into the railing. The force sent her toppling over the side, plummeting down, down, down to the river's underbelly.

Chihiro woke up with a groan. She was on her back, and lightning crashed overhead, blinding her momentarily. She was lying in thick, thick mud, and there was a glass bottle beneath her head. For a moment she couldn't remember how she got there. Then she heard a faint scream.

"Chihiro! Chihiro!"

Akira was calling to her from the riverbank. Chihiro couldn't see him, but she guessed he was standing at the railing where he'd seen her fall. Chihiro opened her mouth to yell back to him when a snarling, raging blast of hot air pushed her back into the mud and pinned her. Her scream evaporated in her throat as blasting heat surrounded her. It felt like she'd stepped into an oven. She could actually see the steam the falling rain created as it landed on the hide of whatever it was that held her down and gagged her. Chihiro couldn't see anything, and all she could feel and smell were flames. They burned hotter and hotter all around her, as some kind of foreign animal wailed snapped in her ears. The flames grew hotter – insufferably so. Chihiro felt like she was going to black out any moment. She tried and tried to scream but nothing escaped the smoke and fury. Lightning cracked, and the wind howled though she did not feel its cooling breath. Chihiro braced herself for death.

Chihiro watched as the swirling vortex of clouds, the rain, and the fog of smoke all disappeared. The streetlights dimmed and then vanished, as the world above slowly faded to complete black. Just before she lost all sense, she heard a new sound above the animalistic grunts and growls above her. It was a cracking sound, like a great fracture being made in stone. Or a dam rupturing. This was followed immediately but a great thundering sound, and the ground trembled beneath her scalp. It sounded like a stampede of horses was coming straight towards her. Delirious, Chihiro tried to shove off the ground, weakly attempting to get out of the way before she was trampled by the galloping herd. Her eyes refused to open. Suddenly, with an ear-shattering roar, the blistering heat suffocating her vanished and the weight holding her down was removed. Chihiro instantly sat up, gasping and coughing. Tears streamed nonstop from her eyes, and she couldn't tell whether they were from the smoke or the relief of being alive. She lurched to her feet and opened her eyes. From the direction of the ocean and approaching rapidly was a wave of ocean water. Its frothy current was the rumbling noise she'd heard coming, and now there was nowhere for her to run.

Chihiro sprinted in the direction she thought the cement steps out of the riverbed would be, her only thought survival. But she wasn't quick enough, and the ocean water was suddenly upon her. The current knocked her feet out from under her and she was sucked into a dark, swirling vortex. Her lungs screamed, and her last thought was how ironic it was to trade dying of suffocation for drowning. As her body began to convulse, desperate lungs searching for oxygen, she wondered which was the less painful way to go.

Just as the bubbling, black water began to fade, this time for good, Chihiro felt a pair of thick, rough horns slide past her legs. A silky mane brushed against her flailing left hand, and then she knew no more.

"Breathe."

Strong hands were pushing on her chest.

"Breathe."

Her ribs creaked under the force of the person heaving their body weight against them.

"Breathe."

She could feel the tendons in the person's fingers flex as they grasped her shoulders in a vice grip.

"Come on Chihiro, you can do this. _Breathe_, dammit!"

The hands tightened on her shoulders. The pain was enough to break her silence.

She twisted beneath the arms that held her and tried to speak, but a torrent of saltwater flooded out of her stomach and lungs. Whoever was with her immediately rolled her limp body to the side so she could cough up the water without choking. She coughed and heaved ocean for what felt like an hour, before she was completely empty. Spent, she couldn't find the strength even to roll on to her back again, or open her eyes. The person rolled her on to her back instead, and then the strong hands were on her face, thumbs stroking her cheekbones. They cradled her face like she was extremely breakable. Regardless of this, the touch made her feel safe and taken care of. Long, smooth fingers brushed her wet bangs out of her eyes and off of her sweaty forehead. Someone let out a sigh, and it sounded like one of relief.

Chihiro had begun to drift off again, when she felt someone give her a shake. She moaned lightly, but didn't speak. The last thing she felt were sinewy arms lifting her and holding her close.

Chihiro unclosed her eyes in a different place. The décor was unfamiliar, but the room not so. She was lying on a soft mat over wooden floorboards. The walls were made of creamy paper laid between oak wood frames. Green curtains with gold designs were hanging in front of a balcony. The doors had been left open and a cool breeze along with the cries of seagulls drifted in. She turned her head and saw Haku sitting cross-legged on a mat a few feet away from her. He sat in profile, facing the far wall.

"Haku, it's you!" She whispered as loudly as she could. Her throat felt so sore.

He turned and stared at her, as if surprised to see her awake. It was a relief to see those green eyes again. He dropped his gaze and went back to looking at the wall.

"Welcome back."

"To the land of the living?" she asked while slowly raising herself up on her elbows.

Haku didn't look at her as he answered, "Well, …"


	7. Chapter 7

**Started 7. Let me know what you think!**

**7. **

"I'm back in the Spirit world?!" Chihiro rasped at the top of her lungs.

Haku faced her. "Only temporil–"

"How did I get here?!" she interrupted.

"I–"

"And what are _you _doing here? I thought –"

"_One moment, Chihiro!_" Haku stood up in exasperation.

"How long have I been here? And why did you bring me _here_. I thought that you –" Chihiro trailed off in confusion, before standing on wobbly knees.

"I wanted to make sure –" Haku began, then stopped what he was about to say to leap forward and catch Chihiro as she collapsed. He landed hard on the wood floor, with Chihiro safe on top of him.

"Ow." He said through gritted teeth as he sat up, holding her in his lap.

"What the…why am I so dizzy now?" Chihiro slurred. The world was suddenly very out of focus.

"When you come into contact with a powerful spiritual force in the human realm, it saps your human strength. It's known as 'walking sickness', because you aren't supposed to be able to walk immediately after being exposed to the spiritual energy." As he spoke he carefully untangled himself from Chihiro and laid her back down on the mat.

"Oh." Chihiro murmured. "So, a spirit did this? Who?! What kind of spirit?"

Haku gazed at her solemnly. "I don't know Chihiro, but I need to find out. It's dangerous for all of us to have a rogue spirit leaking into the human realm. You're going to have to tell me all that you remember about it."

Chihiro really didn't want to think about it. The suffocating heat, her pointless struggles…

"Haku, how do you know all about this?"

"The walking sickness?"

She nodded. "Do a lot of humans…have contact with spirits these days?"

Haku shrugged. "I read about it in one of Yubaba's history books a long time ago, when I first became her apprentice. I don't think many people can even see spirits unless they've visited the spirit realm themselves."

That made Chihiro feel a little better, though still confused.

"Haku, if that's true, why didn't I feel any 'walking sickness' after…um…after I last saw you?"

Haku's face twitched infinitesimally, but he gave no other indication that he was remembering the events of that night, as she was. "Because I'm only one spirit, and a water elemental at that. I inhabit an element of the earth, and so I can't hurt humans; at least not on purpose."

When Chihiro just stared, he continued. "Whatever you came into contact with was something different from me." He seemed uncomfortable that he couldn't tell more, and rubbed the lump forming on the back of his head as he spoke.

"More powerful than you?" Chihiro whispered. Haku's eyes flashed to hers. There was ice in his voice.

"_No_."

Chihiro looked away and felt a sudden welling of tears at his cutting tone. He had gone from sounding like the Haku she knew back to behaving like someone completely different. She sighed and glanced back at him.

"You changed your clothes."

He looked down as if just noticing.

"I only wear human clothes when I'm in that world." His eyes slid to her clothing.

Chihiro looked down – she was still wearing her jeans, red top, and flats. All were completely soiled and smelling of saltwater.

"Ew." She groused and picked at her shirt. "Gross. How did I get so wet?"

Haku raised an eyebrow.

"You don't remember?"

Chihiro swallowed suddenly as her eyes grew wide.

"Nevermind. I do." She felt sick, reliving the experience.

"Where's Lihn?" she asked, to keep the conversation going.

Haku sighed. "I wanted her to watch you, but –"

"You wanted her to _watch me?_" Chihiro interjected. The phrase smarted a small amount.

"Yes…" he continued, "but she was –"

The far doors flew open and Lihn traipsed in. Chihiro could see her confident swagger hadn't changed at all, even from where she was laying.  
"Hey, ya' dope, you're back!" She ran over and hugged Chihiro tightly.

"Haku, you jerk! You just told me you wanted to see me, you didn't tell me _she _was here!" She spoke over Chihiro's head at him.

Chihiro couldn't see his face as he answered.

"I didn't think it was that important. You seemed really busy."

"Yeah, does anyone else do any work around here?" She retorted, letting Chihiro go. "Now _shoo_, Mr. 'Cool Guy' – we have some catching up to do."

Chihiro looked at Haku, torn.

"One second." he said to Lihn, though his eyes were on Chihiro.

He knelt down beside her and waved his right hand over her legs.

"In the name of the wind and water within thee, unbind her."

Chihiro gasped and bent her knees.

"I can walk again!"

Haku smiled a little at her surprise.

"See, you're all better."

Chihiro remembered the last time she'd heard those words from him, and for a moment she could see him again – the friend she knew and (unfortunately) still cared about.

He returned to his feet, bowed, and left the room, sliding the door closed behind him. Chihiro's eyes followed his white-clad silhouette through the paper walls until he turned a corner and disappeared from view.

"That was weird." Lihn piled on the sarcasm. "What the heck did he do, anyways, that you show up not being able to walk?"

Chihiro felt her face turning beet-red at the various implications contained in that single statement. She could practically see Lihn's thoughts getting carried away as she squinted at her suspiciously.

"Nothing – _nothing. _I mean…we didn't _do_ anything. Or, _he_ didn't do anything. _I_ did something."

"Ooh, tell, tell!" Lihn leaned in excitedly.

Chihiro looked up at her wearily. "It's not very exciting. Or good, for that matter."

Lihn's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean? You're not in any sort of trouble, are you? Is that why Haku seems even grumpier than usual today?"

That distracted her. "Haku's been grumpy?"

Lihn rolled her eyes. "Oh, honey, you wouldn't believe it if I told you! And I thought he was bad _before _you came to visit us, what, seven years ago?"

"Eight." Chihiro corrected quietly. "By the way, Lihn, you look great – it's like you haven't aged at all!"

Lihn brushed her lustrous hair back. "Thanks, it's the bath steam – keeps my skin soft and my hair shiny."

Chihiro smiled. "Nice. So…Haku is upset?"

"Oh no, not again." The look Lihn gave her was the look lions gave field mice. Pitiful.

"What again?" Chihiro asked.

Lihn raised her eyebrows. "You know what. I don't understand why you're so hung up on that boy, Sen – he's such a grouch! _You could do so much better_."

Chihiro bristled in Haku's defense.

"Lihn, that's for me to decide."

"Ok, ok." Lihn threw her hands up in apology. "Sorry, I just…If he says anything mean to you, I'll break his face. You know that, right?"

Chihiro laughed and gave her a tight hug.

"I missed you so much, Lihn."

"Missed you too, squirt. So," she said, leaning back, "we never finished our conversation. What exactly did you _do _to put master _Haku _in such a foul mood today, anyways?"

Chihiro dropped her eyes. She'd almost hoped that Lihn would drop it; she wasn't sure whether or not she was supposed to tell anyone about the spirit attack. But, she decided, it really couldn't hurt anyone.

"I'm here – Haku brought me here – because some kind of spirit attacked me."

Lihn gasped. "_No way_. In the human world?"

Chihiro nodded. "Haku said that the spirit was something that shouldn't have been in the human world in the first place, but he doesn't know what or where it is." Chihiro frowned. "He's really not telling me anything. And he's really angry."

Chihiro didn't admit to Lihn that she was pretty sure that she was somehow the cause of his anger. After all, according to his note, he'd only showed up in the human world in the first place because he thought she was in danger – probably from a rogue spirit, she now realized.

Why would Haku have thought that she'd be under attack that day? And why had he changed his mind then, but not now? Chihiro's mind spun with questions. Lihn took her by the shoulders.

"Listen, Sen. Please don't take everything Haku does personally. He's been really stressed lately – don't ask me why, he doesn't tell me anything. But he's probably not mad at you, whatever it is." Her mouth twisted into a grimace. "I hate to admit it, kid, but he _did _have a bit of a soft spot for you. It's probably still there, you just might have to dig for it."

Chihiro let out a resigned sigh. "Thanks, Lihn."

Lihn's eyebrows raised again, but she just shook her head.

"Ok, let's get you out of those wet clothes. How did you get soaked, again?"

Chihiro grinned. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."


	8. Chapter 8

**Much apologies - bad, BAD writer's block. :P**

**8.**

"Ew! Gross!" Lihn yelled as she stared at the mess. Half of the women's sleeping rooms upstairs were now six inches deep in yellowish slime.

"Who did this? Is this from the last stink spirit, because _no way_ should he have been up here!" She ran around like a bull on a rampage, shouting orders. Since Chihiro's last visit, Lihn has moved up a quite a bit on the working ladder. Now she was overseer of almost all the bathhouse workers, second in command to Yubaba.  
"And I wouldn't take her job even if she paid me." She'd told Chihiro as they'd checked in guests and monitored workers that evening.

It had been only a day since Chihiro made her grand re-entrance into the spirit realm, and already it seemed like she had always been there. Yubaba had stuck up her nose and mentioned something about Chihiro smelling up the place. Boh (who had trimmed down quite a bit and now looked like a large toddler rather than a baby) had nearly crushed her in a vice-tight hug. And Lihn had set her to work (not out of spite, but only because Chihiro couldn't stay in the bathhouse _without_ working).

Chihiro hadn't found one minute alone yet, but had the feeling that at any time Haku was going to pull her aside and grill her about the incidents that had brought her back to the bathhouse. He had seemed really intense about it the last time they'd talked, and Chihiro felt ready to share her experience and thoughts about the attack. She was also eager to see him again. Her thoughts had been filled with worry for her sister, parents, and (oddly) Akira, and she thought that he may be willing to visit the human world for her and give her some information on them. They were probably all worried sick, and it made Chihiro sick just to think of it.

"Alright, well, that's rough." Lihn sighed, looking at Chihiro.

"What is?"

"Well, the rest of the dorms are fine, but the last section where you, me, and about ten other women were sleeping is run through with slime. It'll take at least two days for the mop-up crew to scrub it out."

"Oh, no."

"Uh-huh." Lihn agreed. "Do you know anywhere else that you could stay, Sen? At least until the cleaning's done? I have a room that I could use in the back of Yubaba's office (creepy as it is in there), but where are you going to sleep?"

Chihiro blanked. "I don't think I have a place…"

"She can stay with me." A voice interrupted. The tone was cool and smooth, like the blade of a knife.

"Uh-uh Haku, no way I'm letting _you_ take this girl." Lihn stepped between Chihiro and Haku's piercing stare.

"No wait – please! I…I'll go with Haku." Chihiro moved out from behind Lihn. "I mean, do you really have a place I could stay, Haku?"

"Of course." He looked like she'd insulted him. "And I have to talk to you – it's important."

Lihn looked from Haku to Chihiro's pleading face.

"Pleeeeeease?"

Lihn sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine! But Haku, you better watch yourself, mister! And once this floor is clean, she's moving back in!"

"Deal." Haku said and grabbed Chihiro's hand. "Let's go, Sen."

The next thing Chihiro new, Haku was flying through doors, out windows, and over bridges, towing her by the hand.

"Wait, Haku! Slow down!" Chihiro desperately wanted to see all the sights that they were missing – she was sure she'd never been to this part of the bathhouse before. Haku exhaled in a huff.

"_Fine_." He halted instantly. Chihiro barely managed not to fall flat on her face. Haku stretched out an apathetic hand to catch her; luckily she didn't need it.

Chihiro rubbed her sore shoulder and looked around. They had flown all the way across the bridge and through the spirit village, she realized with a start. Haku was much faster than she remembered. They were now to the north of the village a little ways, along the bank of the vast ocean that swallowed the bathhouse and the village and made them into islands. A ferry's bell trilled in the distance, announcing its departure from a far-off dock, and the water gently lapped against the stone steps. Chihiro stared at the gray bricks and felt a sudden sense of déjà vu.

"Come on." Haku quietly grabbed her hand and led her to the left, into a clump of cherry blossom trees. The buds were closed tight, yet plump; almost ready to bloom. After the row of trees, they entered a grove of sturdy oaks. The tall, green grass swayed gently against Chihiro's ankles. She was wearing the traditional bathhouse workers outfit – pink shirt, white sash. But as well as with Haku's clothing, the short hakama leggings had been exchanged for longer pants, that reminded Chihiro of sweatpants. Hers were white – his, black. Haku stopped at a particularly large oak tree. The sunlight reflected off of its spring green leaves as it towered magnificently over the other trees. The aged trunk's girth was easily three times Chihiro's height, and its crown of thick, serpentine branches began easily fifteen feet from the ground. At the base of its branches, partially hidden by leaves, a sturdy-looking house rested. It was large – nearly twenty feet across, and cradled by the largest branches. The walls and floor were made of wood. The flat roof, also. A single window had been added to the front wall, and the thickest supporting branch led straight up to the house's wooden door. Chihiro had never seen anything so perfect. The polished wood gleamed in the sunlight, reminding her of an ancient, rectangular palace that had inexplicably landed in the branches of this mighty tree.

Chihiro hadn't noticed her mouth hanging open until Haku reached over and closed it. Her jaw tingled where he'd touched it, and when Chihiro turned to him he was smiling a little.

"Haku, you live here?"

He shook his head. "No, not really. After I stopped being Yubaba's apprentice, the river became my home. And after the river died, the ocean." When Chihiro stared at him, rapt, he kept going. "I found this place a long time ago. I had failed my third mission for Yubaba, and was angry at myself. I had been walking in circles for a long time, when suddenly I looked up and…there it was." He gestured to the house. "I never told anyone about it. So…" He leaned in. "You better not tell anyone about this – or else I'd have to kill you."

Chihiro laughed at that. "It's like your secret hideout, huh?"

Haku smiled and leaned away. "Secret hideout? Maybe. I never use it, but…" He slid her a glance. "It might be a good place to stay until the cleaning up is done at the bathhouse."

Chihiro smiled at him like an idiot. He was acting nice again – it warmed her heart to see him acting happy and normal. Seeing her expression, Haku stepped away.

"Now, Chihiro. I have to talk to you about the spirit attack. You have to remember every detail you can – all of it could be crucial, do you understand?"

Chihiro nodded solemnly.

"Hey, didn't think I see you around here much anymore." Linh sat down at the table where Chihiro was eating dinner.

"What do you mean?" Chihiro spoke around the pork bun she was eating.

"Oh, you know…" Lihn winked suspiciously. "You've been digging on Haku for so long I didn't think you'd ever leave his side, since he practically asked you to sleep over with him."

Chihiro felt red all the way to her hairline.

"Lihn! No! I…I don't even…"

Lihn pushed her shoulder playfully. "Relax, Sen! Everyone has a crush now and then – lucky you that you get to spend so much time with yours. _Uninterrupted_…" She trailed off suggestively.

Chihiro bumped shoulders with her and rolled her eyes. "Really, Lihn? Really?" She focused on taking four rapid bites and swallowing the chewy bread.

"Wait a minute…he hasn't tried anything, has he?" Lihn's voice turned serious.

"No." Chihiro couldn't help the glumness that leaked into her tone. "He doesn't like me like that. I mean, I think we're still friends, but he's so hard to read sometimes! Do you know anything about him, Lihn? Anything that's happened since I left that could have changed him so much?" She looked up hopefully.

Still serious, Lihn shook her head. "Sorry, sport. Me and _Master_ Haku have never been real close." She put a finger over her lips and seemed to consider for a moment. "Hmmm."

"What?"

Lihn's eyes slanted to Chihiro's hopeful face, then back to the walls pensively. "Well, to be honest Chihiro, the only time I noticed a definite change in him was the very day you left the bathhouse."

"What," Chihihiro asked, "after Haku took me back to my parents? He showed me how to get back to the human world, and then I left. Oh!" she remembered suddenly, "And he told me that I couldn't look back at him, or the spell wouldn't work. So I didn't see him leave, either."

Lihn snapped her fingers. "Yeah, yeah, I remember now! I saw him come back after he'd dropped you off at the dock!"

Chihiro's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "You mean the stone steps leading down to the field?"

"Oh, right." Lihn corrected. I don't know what you mean by a field – no one living here has seen anything but water past those steps. We call it the dock, because all arriving ferries stop there."

"Oh."

"Right, well anyways, I saw Haku coming back that day. He was walking through the village, which I think was what got my attention. It's really not Haku's style to walk anywhere – heck, until you came around, I barely ever saw him when he wasn't a dragon."

Chihiro blinked. That was odd – Haku had always been a human around her. In fact, for a while, he'd acted like he never wanted her to see him in his dragon form. It had taken swallowing a cursed golden seal for her to see him in that form, and she had still loved him just the same.

"He looked pretty serious – determined. But again, when doesn't he look like that? I was taking a smoke break with one of the kitchen cooks near the elevators on Yubaba's floor. Through the window I saw him go into the bathhouse, and two seconds later he was out of the elevator and walking towards the boss' office."

"Yes!" Chihiro chimed in, "He was probably going to talk to her about ending his apprenticeship! He told me that he would before we said goodbye."

Lihn shrugged. "I don't know what they were going to talk about, but something went wrong."

Chihiro stopped breathing. Lihn saw her face and immediately grabbed her shoulders.  
"It's alright! It's not that bad! Look, he went into the office and slammed the door behind him, but I could still hear them speaking through the walls." She looked a Chihiro for a moment and gave her a shake. "Breathe." Chihiro took a breath. Lihn sighed in exasperation.

"Ok, so all I heard was a lot of yelling. I swear, I've never heard of anyone standing up to Yubaba like that, but I'm telling you Chihiro, he sounded heated through the walls. I couldn't hear any yelling from Yubaba, so I don't think she was as mad as he was. But whatever he went in there for, he walked in calm and came out angry as a mountain spirit with a hernia."

Chihiro gasped. "Did he see you?"

"No. My friend had already left to get back to work, and Haku just stormed right past me."

Chihiro clutched Lihn's pink hakama in anticipation. "_Did you follow him? What happened?_"

"Whoa! Easy! Yes, ok, I looked to see where he was going." She shrugged. "I've never seen Haku look so pissed – I was curious. But I didn't see much."

Chihiro waited, eyes huge. Lihn continued.

"I saw him walk into the elevator and pull the basement-level lever."

"Kamaji's level?" Chihiro interrupted.

"Yes. I saw the elevator come back up to the first floor, empty. I waited about 5 minutes, but it didn't move. So I called the elevator back up and rode to the first floor, then went to the stairs around back – the ones that lead down to the boiler room. I thought that if they were talking I could hear what they were saying through the side door…" She paused.

"And? And?!" Chihiro pleaded. Lihn looked at her seriously.

"_And_… I was halfway down the stairs when the _white dragon_ comes exploding through the door, scaring me half to _death_! Chunks of wood were flying everywhere and he was obviously seething. I don't think he saw me on the stairs – he flew straight towards the village, towards the dock. And when he reached those steps, he plunged into the water."

"Then what happened?"

"What happened was I got docked half a day's pay for taking too long on my break!" Lihn shook her head at the memory.

"No, I mean, did he ever come back?" Chihiro asked.

Lihn shoveled the rest of her rice into her mouth and guzzled the last of her tea. She spoke around the food as she hurried to get her dishes stacked and her apron tied.

"I didn't see him come back that day – and ever since it's always been hit and miss with him. The past two days is the longest he's been here in almost five years. He seems determined to stick around annoying me as long as you're here." She winked encouragingly at Chihiro.  
"You must have made quite an impression on him, even if you are a human."

Chihiro felt goose bumps going up her arms at the idea that she'd left any kind of a good impression on Haku. Though she'd been hopeful earlier today that things were becoming normal between them again. She'd explained to him everything that had happened the night of the attack, and he had listed patiently without interruption. Since the day had been warm, they'd sat in the tall grass at the foot of the oak tree that held his "secret hideout", as she called it. She had wanted to ask him some questions too, but he'd said goodbye and flown off before she could press him.

Now, with new purpose, Chihiro cleared her plate, said goodbye to Lihn, and took the bathhouse stairs down to the first floor. Glancing back to make sure she wasn't being observed, she slipped out of a side door, into the gardens. The red evening sun painted the sky and cast shadows all around her as she made her way to the steep wooden stairs leading down to the boiler room. Chihiro reached the first step down and squared her shoulders. She wasn't a child anymore; she could handle this. Still, the steps stretched down in front of her, impossibly steep, and Chihiro had to kneel and lay a hand on the ground for support. She breathed. _You can do this_. She tentatively placed her bare foot on the first step. Then, she moved her other to the second. Slowly, step by step, she scooted down the staircase until she had the courage to stand. One step standing. Two. Three. _This is easy! _She thought to herself. But when she lifted her eyes for only a moment, she suddenly missed the next step. Her right ankle twisted and Chihiro flying face-first down the steps. She scrambled madly to regain her balance, but the force of the stumble pushed her down the rest of the steps in a rush. As she reached the bottom, the boiler-room door opened and Kamaji stuck his head out, just in time for Chihiro to run right into him.

"Ah!" he exclaimed in surprise as he steadied her with two of his spindly arms.  
"Kamaji!" Chihiro panted. "Surprise!"

"Sen!" Kamaji definitely seemed surprised to see her.

Chihiro gulped and tried to take deeper breaths. After a few seconds, she stepped back and her voice turned serious.

"I need to talk with you."


	9. Chapter 9

**Finished Ch.9. The next chapter is short and sweet, so stay tuned!**

**9.**

Chihiro settled back against the spice drawers that lined the boiler room walls and watched the enchanted clusters of soot carry lumps of jagged coal from their rat hole in the wall to the blazing furnace across the room. Kamaji lay stomach-down on his pedestal at the room's center. One of his spider arms turned a lever, opening and closing the furnace, while another reached above her to grab a handful of spices from an open drawer and added them to the water being heated and pumped to one of the bathhouse's multiple tubs. His third arm turned a dial determining the hot water's destination, and with his final arm he handed Chihiro a steaming cup of brown tea.

Chihiro smiled and silently accepted the brew. Kamaji was too busy to acknowledge this, save once she'd taken the ceramic cup to withdraw his arm and apply it towards another purpose. His head was trained forward and his black, circular glasses in place over his triangular nose. His bushy brown mustache was the only hair he'd ever sported.

It felt nice that not much had changed in the boiler room since Chihiro last saw it. She took a sip of tea and waited for Kamaji to address her directly. When he didn't speak or turn from his work, she began.

"Kamaji, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something that happened here a long time ago? Something with Haku?"

"Eh? Master Haku?" Kamaji grunted.

"Yes," Chihiro continued, "Um, Lihn told me that –"

"Lihn?" Kamaji interrupted. "She still think you're my granddaughter?"

Chihiro chuckled. "Nope, she figured out a long time ago that I wasn't."

"Oh," Kamaji almost seemed to chuckle, "well…"

"So Lihn was talking to me about the day that I left here," Chihiro continued, "And she said Haku came to talk to you, and…" she trailed off uncertainly. The story suddenly sounded absurd. "Um, Kamaji, did Haku speak to you…about anything…the day I left?" Her voice cracked in the middle of the question.

"Hmmmm…" one of Kamaji's claw-like hands reached up to rub his leathery, bald head, "I seem to recall him coming here – nine years ago, was it?"

"Eight." Chihiro quipped.

"Ah, yes…" he went silent. Chihiro counted the seconds, losing patience with each one.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, he did come and speak with me that day." Kamaji finished, and turned back to his work without another word.

"What did he say? What did you two talk about? I think I need to know what's going on – Haku's been so stressed lately, and I have no idea why, and I want to help!"

"Well it's not really your business what we discussed, is it?" Kamaji mused from where he sat.

"I know it's not my business, but I want to help Haku – he's helped me so much lately, and I just can't…" Chihiro's throat tightened in emotion and she took a quavering breath. Two small tears puddled on the floor near her feet. The lever stopped spinning for a moment, and suddenly a long, scratchy fingernail was coaxing Chihiro's face up to the light. Kamaji peered are her suspiciously.

"You really want to know, do you?"

Chihiro nodded silently, almost afraid to hope.

"Well, I can't tell you all that we spoke about – that is the boy's business, you know. If you want to find out, you'll have to ask him," he paused, then emphasized his next words, "or somebody else who knows about this." Chihiro nodded in understanding. So somebody else knew about this…

"Haku came to me and told me that he had officially ended his apprenticeship with Yubaba. I must say, I was happy for him. He'd grown so pale and tired since working for her – it was about time he got a break from that life." Chihiro nodded. She whole-heartedly agreed.

"He also wanted to ask me about something Yubaba had told him, about you."

"Me?" Chihiro asked, baffled.

"Yes." Kamaji nodded. "A very serious matter. I've been a resident of this place the longest of anyone, except Yubaba. And I've studied and remembered the details of as many curses, spells, and spiritual responsibilities as she has, if not more. So naturally he came to me for my wisdom on the subject."

"So he was coming to you about a curse, or spell?" Chihiro asked.

Kamaji raised his eyebrows appraisingly. "Very good."

"And it had to do with me?" Chihiro asked, confused.

Kamaji nodded. "Yes, very much so."

"What was it, Kamaji? Please, you must tell me!" she beseeched him.

"I'm afraid I may have already said too much. But let me ask you this, Sen. Have you noticed anything strange happening to you since you left us so long ago?"

Chihiro's mind immediately went to her brutal attack, but she couldn't think of how this might pertain to Haku and Kamaji's meeting. She shook her head.

"No, nothing too different."

Kamaji's eyebrows raised. "And Master Haku, has he visited you at all?"

Chihiro looked down. "No. Not until a few weeks ago, at least. He visited me then." She smiled a little at the memory. "My car had been crushed, and Haku somehow showed up afterwards, thinking he was responsible for the accident. I never got to ask why. A few hours later, before I could talk to him about it, he changed his mind and left."

Kamaji dipped his head. "My, my…he wasn't kidding, was he?" He said the words to himself.

Chihiro perked up. "What are you saying? What does that mean?"

Kamaji shook his head. "Ask him yourself."

"But…" Chihiro began, then faltered. When she spoke again, her voice had lowered to a resigned whisper. "But he doesn't seem to even trust me anymore, Kamaji. How can I expect him to tell me something personal when he won't even explain disappearing three weeks ago?" She looked up hopelessly. Kamaji was staring at her, intrigued. He took two hands and placed them on her shoulders.

"Now Sen, I will tell you this. Don't you ever think that Haku doesn't care for you deeply. Do you remember so many years ago, when you broke Zeniba's spell by showing your true love for him?" Chihiro nodded, considering. "You don't think it would have happened that way if he didn't love you too, do you?" Chihiro lifted her face to look at him, but despair shone in her eyes.

"But that was eight years ago, Kamaji. Maybe Haku's feelings have changed. Maybe he doesn't even like me anymore, and now I'm just some stupid human who –"

"Stop!" Kamaji cried, and laid a grandfatherly finger over her lips. "Haku came to me the day you left _because_ he loved you, and that is the last I can tell you about it. But you mean more to him than you know." There was a pause as Chihiro tried to absorb this.

"That boy doesn't feel that he deserves you, then or now. Try to prove him wrong, and then maybe he'll let you into his head. Then you can ask him these questions yourself."

Kamaji turned away and shot a look out the open window. The sky had grown black and the first few, trembling stars poked bravely through the gathering ocean mists.

"I'm afraid the bathhouse is closed – time for you to be off." He turned fully around and began work once more, all of his arms moving to their own patterns. Chihiro mentally agreed. She felt suddenly exhausted. Walking up to Kamaji's pedestal, she gave him a tight hug from behind.

"Thank you, Kamaji." She murmured, and felt one of his hands land lightly on her back as she hugged him. She ended the hug as suddenly as she'd begun, and turning, sprinted out through the back door, closing it tightly behind her. She cast a look out on to the ocean, telling herself that she wasn't looking specifically for a gleaming white dragon. Only admiring the nighttime scenery.

A blast of freezing air reddened her cheeks as she started her awkward climb back up the massive wooden steps. Her teeth quickly began to chatter as the foggy air leached through her thin worker's blouse. She imagined the long walk it would be to Haku's tree home, and groaned internally. _Where was that dragon when you needed him, anyways?_

Once Chihiro finally reached the top of the stairs she was panting and sweating like a work horse.

"Geez," she muttered to herself, "I'm really out of shape."

Feeling incredibly light-headed, she leaned on the bathhouse wall for support, before her wobbly legs bent and she slid to the ground like a melting candle. Baffled, she tucked her head between her knees and took one slow, deep breath. Her nausea suddenly evaporated as quickly as it had come, and within seconds she was able to stand again. She shrugged it off and kept walking. _Strange._ She just needed some sleep – everything would be better in the morning. She smiled bitter sweetly as she crossed the bridge towards the vacant village. Tomorrow she'd corner Haku and not leave until she got the answers she wanted. Tomorrow…

Haku spiraled gracefully between the misty clouds, his serpentine body lithely brushing against the island's tall-reaching trees as he slithered closer to ground level. He'd been scouting the island for an hour, but had noticed nothing amiss; no rogue demons, no unusual bathhouse customers. He snorted in frustration. Chihiro was at the bathhouse, but whatever had been on her tail still wasn't showing itself. It put Haku on edge to think that whatever was stalking her was possibly clever enough to only attack her in the human world, where she was unprotected; vulnerable. He wasn't sure what was going to happen if the creature didn't show its face soon.

The silver moonlight glinted off of the intricate pattern of black and navy scales that adorned his back as he reached the row of cherry blossom trees and slowed his pace. Within five minutes, he'd reached the clearing that surrounded his great "secret tree". He snorted a chuckled and glanced back at his gleaming scales uncertainly. Ever since he'd become a spirit of the Atlantic Ocean, his coloring had changed from white and turquoise to darker, deeper shades. Not that he minded. In fact, he found himself wondering what Chihiro would think of the change in scales. And surprisingly, he found himself hoping that she was awake to greet him as he fluidly cleared the grass, twisted through the branches, and shot through the wooden house's single window like a silky, silent bullet. _Ah_, he stopped short. Though nearly as large and sturdy as a frontiersman's cabin, the house was more cramped than he remembered, especially in his dragon form. He quickly curled around himself and pressed his body against the high ceiling in order to save space. His eyes, immune to the darkness, scanned the wooden floor below him. A single cot rested on either side of the house; both were empty, and he felt no heat radiating from either, as if they hadn't yet been slept in. Chihiro wasn't there.

A surge of icy-hot fear jolted through Haku from nose to tail. He ripped out the window and was dipping down to the tree's base when he caught the faint scent of human in his sensitive nostrils. He halted and spun around. Leaning against the oaken trunk, surrounded by gauzy nets of green grass, Chihiro was fast asleep. Haku slowly, quietly lowered to the ground and padded softly up to her, sniffing. She smelt of coal smoke, and ocean water. Probably from the mists, he realized. Why was she here on the ground? Confused, he gauged the distance from the base of the trunk to the tree house. Altogether it was about a fifteen-foot climb, and with sudden clarity he realized that he had, in all this time, neglected to set up a ladder to the house's door! His azure mane bristled as he mentally slapped himself. _Stupid, stupid, stupid. _She hadn't been able to climb up! He'd never even thought of it – himself being able to simply fly up to the door without difficulty.

He reminded himself to install a ladder as he gently snaked his body around her sleeping form and lifted her. He shoved the door latch open with his nose, and then they were both inside; safe from the night chill brewing outdoors. He lowered himself and his burden to the nearest cot by the door before sliding his body out from under her. Chihiro snored lightly and rolled over.

A few seconds later, a warm, human hand worked her shoes off and placed them by the door. The same hands pulled the blanket around her snugly, brushed a stray hair from across her eyelid, and latched the door. Haku struck flint in the small fire pit at the room's center before collapsing on the other cot and plummeting head-first into uneasy sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Finished Ch.10. FINALLYYYY.**

**10.**

_Chihiro didn't have to turn around to feel the monster's glare on her. His hot, putrid breath burned the back of her neck like the sun, leaving it raw and sore. She had been meeting Haku in the field of flowers – he'd promised to lead her to her parents that morning. Now, he stood in front of her, staring wide-eyed at what stood behind her. His face was still youthful and innocent in this dream. Chihiro watched his face as the monster grabbed her from behind. Its fiery arms pulled her to the ground, suffocating her. She clawed at the air in a panic, and Haku suddenly vanished from view. The arms disappeared and Chihiro bolted to her feet. All around her was blackness – she couldn't recognize where she was. She took a step and her shoe landed on what felt like the rim of a glass bottle. _

_"Chihiro!" She heard yelling in the distance but instead of Akira's voice, it was Haku's. _

_"Haku!" She yelled, "Where are you?"_

_"Here." He answered, and suddenly he was beside her in the darkness. His skin gave off a faint glow, despite the fact that there was no moon. Suddenly, the mud of the riverbed began sucking at Chihiro's feet. In panic, she looked to Haku. He was staring at her, his face a picture of imminent sadness. _

_"Why?" he whispered, "Chihiro, look what you've done."He looked at his dry riverbed as if each moment he stood there caused him physical pain. Chihiro couldn't stand the agony in his eyes. She took an unsteady step towards him and heard a crack beneath her feet. The ground ruptured, and a wall of gushing water separated them, engulfing Haku and sweeping Chihiro away, towards the mouth of the river. Somewhere in the distance, as the current bore her rapidly towards the bay, a dragon snarled helplessly in anguish._

_"Haku, I'm coming!" Chihiro desperately tried to fight the current, but it was so strong. _Not again_ was the only thought that she could focus on. _I can't lose him again.

_"Haku!" She screamed and reached gropingly into the blackness. The river's current became a vortex swirling her towards its center. It sucked her under the surface and thrashed her against the river's cement bank, scraping her face and arms. She screamed in pain and choked on his name underwater._

_"Hak–" _

Chihiro woke with a start as her face slammed into a hard wood floor.

"Haku?" She mumbled as she tried to right herself on the floor with one foot still caught in the dream. Her eyes reeled across the dark pine walls.

"Chihiro!" she heard a shout from somewhere and then suddenly a figure was kneeling beside her. She flinched away from it in surprise before recognizing who it was.

"Haku!" her voice cracked.

"Chihiro, what happened? Are you ok?" He was breathing almost as hard as she was. Her shirt was stuck to her back with sweat, and the tree house floors seemed to tilt beneath her braced palms. Chihiro's gaze flitted around the unfamiliar room. Glowing embers burned in the fire pit and a single cot sat across the room from her. She turned and saw that what she'd fallen off of was another cot. She didn't remember getting up to the tree house herself – Haku must have helped somehow. Dazed, she looked at her empty bed again. The sheets were tangled around her legs and the pillow sprawled on the floor five feet away. Her right cheekbone felt bruised from where she'd struck it on impact.

"I…" she muttered, "I fell out of bed." A cool hand felt her sticky forehead.

"Yeah, I can see that. Are you alright? I heard you yelling for m–" He suddenly stopped mid-sentence and his hand disappeared from her forehead. After a moment an unsure hand was laid on the top of her shoulder.

"I'm sorry that you fell off. If you want, I can find another place for you to stay tonight." His voice was solemn yet reassuring; he was trying to be nice to her.

Chihiro's large, chocolaty eyes turned up to his, and Haku saw the glitter of tears shimmering like coals in the low light of the embers before she grabbed him fiercely around the waist and buried her head in his chest. She started shaking and he could feel tears leaking through his shirt before he had sense enough to react. _Wow, she's stronger than I remember. _He thought as, with each tremor that ran through her body, Chihiro gripped him impossibly tighter. His ribs felt the pressure of each squeeze and it was getting a little difficult to breathe. He gripped her slight elbows and defensively tried to pry her off and put some space between them.

"I thought it was my fault." Her low voice was muffled by his shoulder.

"What?" Haku asked, confused. His hands on her elbows froze.

"I thought that you had died because of me." A shudder wracked her body. "I thought that I'd killed you." Haku froze.

"_What_?" He asked in a shocked whisper. Chihiro cringed, before raising her head up and letting her hold on him go. She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"When I was…10. After I went back to the human world with my parents…I really wanted to see you again." She hiccupped. "I waited and waited, but, you didn't come…" her voice sounded bewildered and hurt. Haku stared, stunned, as she continued.

She told him of how she'd journeyed to his river, and found it bare.

"I…I thought that, since you knew who you were and had probably tried to return to your river, that you were dead for certain. So…" she took a deep breath, "it was all my fault that you were dead, because I was the one who helped you find your name. If I hadn't done that you wouldn't have even known that you had a river to return to; you could have lived at the bathhouse forever." She looked at him as if she expected him to suddenly vanish in a puff of smoke. "I was so sure that I'd somehow killed you."

Her voice faded. The seconds ticked by, and Haku couldn't think of a thing to say. Finally, out of awkwardness, Chihiro silently began to disentangle herself from his arms. That broke through his haze.

"_No._" He whispered, and embraced her firmly against him. Her twined fingers were left pressed between their bodies. Chihiro couldn't see his face from where her chin rested on his shoulder, but she'd never felt him hold her this tightly. The wild instinct to struggle crawled across her belly – his hold on her was like a drowning man's grip on a life preserver, and it made her worried. His voice, however, was familiar and comforting; stained with some deep emotion when he spoke.

"Chihiro, giving me back my name was the best thing you could have done for me. You freed me Chihiro – freed me from Yubaba, and this realm forever." He finally loosened his hold and pulled back to look at her squarely. "I will never be able to thank you for finding my true name."

Chihiro blinked. "Then why didn't you visit me, Haku?" His eyes immediately fell, like shutters on a window pane. His chin turned away from her ever so slightly. Frustrated, Chihiro used two fingers to jerk his face back to hers and force him to look up.

"Why, Haku? If you were _so _thankful to me, why treat me like trash? I want to know why." Haku's eyes slid to hers.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Argh!" Chihiro growled in frustration, "You know exactly what I'm talking about! Ever since I got here you've been either mean to me or impossibly distant. And you acted the same way the last time I saw you, when you were at my family's apartment!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Chihiro felt her cheeks flush red. After a moment, she blurted out the first words that ran across her mind.

"Did you save me that day, or not?"

"Yes." Haku answered immediately.

"Th-thank you." She mumbled, surprised at how easy it had been getting him to admit that. If only so many other things were that way.

"Um," she adjusted herself so that she was leaning against the cot's metal frame, looking at him square on, "how did you know?"

"What?"

"You said in the note that you left me that you thought I was in danger because of you. How did you know I was in any danger at all?"

"I…er…" Haku stuttered. Chihiro stared, astonished. She'd never seen him stutter.

"I was keeping tabs on you, alright?" He glanced up and saw Chihiro's eyes fill with hope. Quickly, he backtracked.

"Well, not you, really – the border from the Spirit Realm to the human world." She kept staring, so he continued. He was rambling – how annoying. He never rambled…

"I visited the human realm as an ocean spirit, too, but that was just for…I mean, it didn't really have anything to do with you…"

Chihiro's face was blank for a moment. Then, slowly, and fiendishly happy grin spread from ear to ear. Haku stopped.

"_What_?"

"I _knew _it!" Chihiro announced happily. Haku's eyebrows knit together.

"I knew you missed me too, Haku!"

Haku glared coldly. "You don't know nearly as much as you think you do."

Chihiro sobered immediately at his icy tone. Sick of this childish act, she scowled up at him defiantly. "Then why don't you tell me?"

Haku was quiet for a long moment as he seemed to measure her with his eyes. Chihiro straightened her spine under his scrutiny.

"Alright. You asked for the truth, here it is. I think that that spirit, or demon, whatever it is, wants something from me. And it's using you to get it."

Chihiro frowned in confusion. "Why would a demon be harming me to try and get to you? I mean, there's no way that you could know that it was trying to send you a message, right? The attacks could have been just random."

Haku looked down. "That's where you're wrong. There was another reason I've been keeping…tabs…on you in the human world. Another reason why I've stayed away." Suddenly, Haku was on his feet. He towered over her in the small space. In one fluid movement he pulled his shirt off and threw it on the cot. Chihiro's eyes grew large as saucers. Grimly, Haku pointed to his shoulder.

"Do you see _that_?" He asked dryly.


	11. Chapter 11

**Finished Ch.11 - it's a short one. Chihiro's had it. :)**

**11.**

The light of the stars sifted through the open window and burned into Chihiro's back. She squinted at first in the dimness before Haku shrugged his torso into the moonlight. Chihiro inhaled deeply, filling the hollow crevices in her ribcage beautifully even as her cheeks sizzled. He was marvelous. Pale, olive skin, glowing luminously. Chihiro's eyes widened. Shimmering faintly at the tip of his pointed finger, on his right shoulder, was a small, simple mark. It stood out subtly as paler and whiter than the rest of his skin. Chihiro rose painfully to her feet – her ankles groaned in protest and needles pricked at the soles of her feet. She had been crouched on the floor too long, and they'd fallen asleep.

Stepping closer, she could see the mark was a simple circle, with rough edges occasionally marring its symmetry. It was only about two inches in diameter, and reminded her, oddly of the sun. Or the moon. Both could easily apply, as it was fairly circular and gleamed pearlescent in the low light. The skin of the mark was smooth, like a scar. Chihiro had once burned her finger on a hot oven when she was twelve. She knew that if she looked, her burn scar would be the same shade and texture as this mark. She reached out a finger to touch the skin, but Haku's hand caught her wrist. She turned her eyes to his, baffled yet determined.

"Let me…" she trailed off and tugged against his grip. After a split-second he let his hand fall away, and she slowly reached out. She intended to only touch the scar, but after a moment's hesitation chose instead to cup her hand about the cool skin and simply admire it. Though it marred his flesh, she found it entrancing. Curious. Beautiful. Wanting, needing an explanation, she looked up with beseeching eyes.

"You're saying I…gave this to you?"

He nodded solemnly, and flinched at her sharp intake of breath.

"_How_?" She asked, more loudly.

Haku didn't answer as he carefully replaced his shirt. Chihiro was momentarily distracted by the play of muscles and tendons roped along his arms and down his back. The twisting, well-chiseled patterns were mesmerizing. However, as his stoic silence stretched on, her patience wore down. Finally she sighed loudly, exasperated.

"For crying out loud, Haku, when are you going to let me help you?"

His eyes flashed up, filled with accusation. Yet he held his tongue. Oddly, this made Chihiro even madder. She _wished_ he would lash out at her – anything would be better than this stupid game of "who could be quiet the longest". So far, he was winning.

After a second of thought, she spoke.

"Fine. You don't want to talk? Then I'm going." Haku's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"Going where?"

Chihiro could see him immediately regret breaking his vow of silence – she fought the urge to grin smugly, and kept her face all-business; stoic.

"Home. Japan. _The human realm_." She emphasized as she stood and began gathering her things. Immediately the floor careened crazily below her, and if she hadn't caught herself on the bed she would have melted like a puddle of wax to the ground. She breathed in shakily, trying to catch her breath, part of her irked at appearing so weak in front of Haku.

"Stupid Walking Sickness." She muttered, half-embarrassed, as she righted herself and began wrapping her shoes, socks, and extra shirt in a blanket.

"That should have worn off by now." Haku's voice came from her right shoulder, but she didn't look up as she concentrated on tying a knot. "How long has this been happening to you?"

"Not long – just since this evening." She answered.

"That's odd – I always thought Yowai Kasai was just an old wives' tale. Then again," Chihiro glanced up to see Haku look her up and down thoughtfully, "we've never had a human your age come to the Spirit Realm by choice and, well…as a human and not a pig."

She looked at him with an eyebrow raised. He answered her unspoken question by explaining. "Humans that are no long children who enter the spirit realm in their original forms – not as animals or spirits – can gradually lose some of their physical strength the longer that they stay within these borders."

Chihiro looked up, genuinely shocked. "And how much of their strength do they lose? How long does it take until they have none left?"

Haku shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know – like I said, you're the first."

"Well…" Chihiro began, then tied the knot to her makeshift knapsack. "Well, then, that's even more reason for me to leave." She wasn't certain, but it looked like Haku's face paled – just a little. She swung the pack over her shoulder and stretched out her left hand to shake. "Goodbye, Haku." He stared at her hand stupidly.

"It's dark outside – you can't leave."

"Oh, but I can. Don't worry about me, I'll find my way."

Chihiro could see his jaw clench. "And how do you plan on crossing the river?"

"You know as well as I do that there's nothing keeping me here – especially a stupid river. I think that if I want to go home, the river will disappear like it did years ago."

"That's just a guess." He countered.

"If it's not right, I don't care. I'll swim across."

"But you're weaker than usual." Haku continued.

"And apparently I'll get even weaker if I stay. Really, it's much better for both of us if I just head home now before anything else happens. Humans don't belong in the spirit realm, anyways."

"And if that fire demon that's been stalking you is waiting for you when you get back to the human world?" Haku seemed a little smug – he thought he was beating her. Chihiro smiled sweetly.

"What do you care what happens to me?" She took a step closer to him. "If I die, I die." Another step. His eyes grew wider as she encroached on his personal space. "Unless there's some way that you'd be hurt by my death?" When he didn't say anything, she continued. "No? Then it's settled. I'm going back." She took another step, stood on her tiptoes, and got right in his face. "I don't care if I die, Haku – if it's to keep you safe from whatever is trying to hurt you, that's more than enough for me. Think of it as payment for saving me before, for bringing me here so I could see my dearest friends one last time. And for coming back into my life, whatever your reasons."

She stepped away from him, suddenly fighting a torrent of very real emotions. Her façade slipped ever so slightly, and she spoke her next words genuinely, from her heart. "Thank you."

He made no move to comfort her, or stop her from leaving. He simply stood and stared. The compassion she'd felt emanating from him only minutes before when he'd held her tight (though now it seemed like hours had passed) was gone; only a secretive, handsome, impossible man stood before her. He was beautiful and interesting in a way that she would never get tired of, yet he might as well have been a complete stranger.

Anger bubbled once again in her heart as she realized that he was leaving their friendship up to her to decide, yet walking away at the same time. He was the one who was abandoning her, just as he had weeks ago. The very thought made her vision go red, and she clamped her mouth shut before she could scream something that she'd regret. It felt like steam was going to blow out of her ears.

She turned and walked stiffly to the window, being very careful not to stumble in the dark. Her head was aching slightly. In one swift motion she grasped the wooden sill, heaved her legs through, and jumped.**  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**12.**

Okay, so the ground was a _little _bit farther away than it had looked from the window. The soft tufts of grass glistening with midnight dew cleverly hid hard, packed dirt beneath. Chihiro hit the ground hard. A splicing pain jolted up her right calf as she landed. It felt like her ankle had been popped out of its socket. She had no time to assess the damage, however, as she felt rather than heard Haku diving out of the window after her.

"Chihiro!"

She ducked as he grabbed for her, still in human form. She saw him swoop in front of her, flying, before she dug her good heel into the dirt and sprinted for the thickest clump of trees. As she raced into the shadows she heard no footsteps behind her – only a guttural sound caught halfway between a growl and a sigh of frustration. Without looking she knew that Haku was now in his dragon form, which would make catching her very easy. The trees slipped past her like wraiths as she sprinted forward blindly. She heard a low warning growl in the foreground and knew that Haku was unhappy with the turn of events. _Well, tough_. She mentally snarled. _It's about time I make some of my own decisions here!_

As she squirmed through a particularly thick clump of low-hanging branches, a gnarled root caught the toe of her shoe and sent her sprawling forward into a leafy bush. _Ack!_ Chihiro spit out a mouthful of leaves, then froze. She could hear Haku's light panting, like a dog, very close to where she lay, hidden. She held her breath until, finally, he moved away from her hiding place. She peaked through the leaves and saw the gloomy silhouette turn and head towards the docks.

Slowly, listening for every snap of a twig, every chirp of a cricket, Chihiro unfolded herself from the ground and brushed herself off. Her ankle felt swollen, and her heartbeat was pounding in her ears, but she could walk. She felt momentary regret for deceiving Haku – making him belief that she was going back to the human world right this instant. But he clearly wasn't going to give her any answers, despite his strange behavior. Acting like he cared about her one minute, shunning her the next. It was unbelievable!

The way Chihiro saw it there was only one person to speak to who could put the pieces together. She set her sights on the distant glowing tower of the bathhouse, and started walking. It was time to go see Yubaba.


	13. Chapter 13

**Finished 13! Please R&R for a cookie! Just kidding, I have no cookies. :)**

**13.**

The plush, carpeted floors muffled Chihiro's footfalls as she made her way down the ornate entranceway to Yubaba's private office. The lamps were burning low in their glasses lining the hall. Chihiro hadn't even considered the fact that it must be three in the morning. She halted, turned her heel. _What if she's asleep? Do witches sleep? _She cocked at ear towards the office door, open only a fraction. Listened for a snore, or anything. _Maybe I should come back later…_

"What are you waiting for, you lazy girl?" A low voice cackled. Chihiro sighed in relief and walked forward to the door. That was Yubaba, alright. She pushed the door open. Yubaba was sitting in her high-backed chair facing a desk cluttered with bills and papers. Her eyes were trained on Chihiro as she quietly closed the door. One eye ticked and Chihiro heard the deadbolt locking behind her.

"This must be something serious for you to be bothering me at this hour. Well, what do you want?"

Chihiro opened her mouth. Thought. Closed it. She didn't even know where to start – it was only a hunch that had brought her here in the first place. She certainly couldn't risk getting Lihn fired by spilling her side of the story.

She had just decided to start at Haku's burn mark when a wooden stool knocked her legs out from beneath her.

"Sit." Yubaba lowered her outstretched hand, stood, and walked around the desk. "So this is about Haku, is it?"

"H-how did you know?" Chihiro asked.

Yubaba ignored her as she walked around swatting invisible flies out of her eyes and shuttering the windows.

"So you want to know about his scar, do you? Well that kind of information isn't cheap, sugar. What'll you give me for it?" She smiled greedily.

"Um, I don't have any–"

In a flash Yubaba stood in front of her, her massive nose pressed against Chihiro's.

"I'm not asking much. Just a little something in return. How about a week's labor, hm? You are a lazy girl, but you did bring in so many wealthy customers the last time you were here."

She turned away in thought, then turned back as something occurred to her.

"Oh! And think of this as payment for the No-Face incident as well, hm? I haven't forgotten." She finished grimly.

Chihiro stuck out her hand. What did she have to lose?

"It's a deal."

Yubaba looked at her palm with disdain. "That's it? Not even going to try to bargain?"

Chihiro shook her head. "Nope. Not this time."

After a second Yubaba reached out. "Very well, the deal is struck." She shook her hand. "Welcome back, Sen."

"Now tell me about Haku."

"_Well_. Impatient, are we?"

Chihiro's lips clamped together in a thin line and she nodded solemnly.

Yubaba settled into her desk chair and propped her feet up. "It's nothing ghastly, dear, it's really nothing." She shrugged. "You two are bound, is all."

Chihiro carefully kept her expression composed and only politely interested.

"Bound?"

"Well yes, you do know what that_ means_, don't you, silly girl?"

Chihiro's curiosity was a raging bull pawing at her throat. "What does it mean?" She choked out.

She didn't realize why Yubaba had flicked her wrist until the hearth behind her burst into a full blaze. She jumped in surprise.

"It means that you two are stuck together for the rest of yours lives - peas in a pod, apples to apples."

"What? Why?" Chihiro couldn't help asking.

The old witch narrowed her eyes and leaned in over the desk. "It's because you gave him back his name, Sen. That's the only way anyone can be bound to anyone else in _this _realm."

The edges of the room grew hazy and for a wild second Chihiro thought she was going to pass out.

"You better be careful where you step from now on, because if anything happens to you, and I mean _anything at all_...you're both _dead_!" She snapped her fingers to emphasize, simultaneously sending a chill down Chihiro's spine. _So that's what they'd spoken about that day..._

"Yes, I was the one who broke the news to him." Yubaba continued as if she'd read her thoughts. "He didn't take it very well, but that was to be expected. He's always been a very selfish boy, quitting on me when I gave him a job and a position."

"He had the right to quit - he didn't want to be a bad person anymore!" Chihiro interrupted. The look Yubaba immediately shot her made her hold her tongue.

"Had the right, did he? After all I'd done for him?" She left the sour question hanging in the stuffy air.  
"Is that why he has a scar?" Chihiro asked.

"Yes - I burned that on him myself the day he came to quit."

"You _didn't_!" Chihiro stood up, surprising herself with her rage at the idea that Yubaba had hurt Haku intentionally.

"_Calm down_, girl, or I'll fire you again!" Yubaba shouted. Chihiro immediately remembered herself and, self-consciously, took her seat.

"So now it would seem that he's responsible for you. Not that he seemed very excited about it when I told him."

Chihiro felt her blood run cold, then hot. Lihn's words echoed in her ears,

_"...he was obviously seething...I didn't see him come back that day...the past two days is the longest he's been here in almost five years."_

All Haku had wanted was to make his own path in the world, and then, just when happiness was within reach, this burden had been forced on him because of what she'd done. _She _was the problem in his life - _she _was the reason he was always angry, always wary. He _had _to make sure that she didn't get hurt, in order to protect himself. Chihiro's head dipped in despair, and she remembered his previous musings, then so mysterious to her,

_"I think that that spirit, or demon, whatever it is, wants something from me. And it's using you to get it..."_

With a shock, Chihiro realized: everything that Haku had done so far to make her believe that some fiber, however small, of their childhood friendship remained - saving her at the fountain; at the riverbed - had nothing to do with any affection or even affinity towards her. Haku was just protecting himself - accepting his burden and its consequences. The consequence of being _given_ his name, not remembering it himself.

The thought made her sick, and she wasn't sure whether she wanted more to burst into tears or to throw up. Yubaba, who had been occupying her hands with desk work, was now looking at Chihiro in a not-so-subtle demand to leave the room and to stop wasting any more her time.

Chihiro decided to take the hint - she had asked for her answers and, by God, she'd gotten them. She need to think; to be alone. Maybe find Haku, though she wasn't sure how she would face him now. Being the reason for his forever bondage, and all.

She was rising from the stool on shaky legs when the far wall of the office, paneled with expensive, lacquered teak, fulminated in a plethora of flames.


	14. Chapter 14

**Halfway done with 14...just trying to give you guys as much as I can as I'm writing it...**

**14.**

Chihiro screamed as the charring wood splintered noisily and a blazing, white-hot creature smashed into the room. His face was blue fire, and at the center of his orange body a blinding white center burned like visible fury. Chihiro tried to back away but almost immediately tripped and fell. She landed flat on her back, the air rushing out of her like a balloon. As she tried to scramble into a sitting position, she could hear Yubaba yelling to the demon.

"…this is _my_ establishment, and customers are _not _allowed to come barging into my private offices – you must leave this _instant_, or you will be banned from this bathhouse forever!"

_Don't bother. _Chihiro thought to herself. Something told her that a demon with this ferocity could not be reasoned with. She struggled to a sitting position just as the creature fixed its soldering eyes on her. It screamed at her – not roared, _screamed_ – and lunged, just as the French windows leading to the balcony shattered.

A black serpentine shape shot through the glass like a bullet, and before Chihiro could blink it had crouched defensively in front of her, with the remaining feet of its tail coiled around her protectively. A low warning growl slid between the dragon's clenched teeth, and its head turned slightly, allowing Chihiro to have a look at its face. Her eyes widened in recognition.

"Haku?" she whispered in awe. One emerald eye slid to her; an acknowledgment of her presence.

"Wow…you're…_amazing_." She breathed reverently. His coloring was striking – midnight black accented with navy blue, long silver whiskers and gleaming claws. Earlier she hadn't looked at him closely, and it had been the dead of night. She could see that he looked more ethereal – and older – now compared to when she'd last seen him as a dragon. At the sound of her voice his head turned slightly more towards her, and she could swear that he smiled, eyes brimming with wordless emotions.

Immediately though, the fire demon, who had since halted his advance, rallied and thrust a flaming hand towards them both. Chihiro screamed as the flames came rushing at them. Haku turned and threw himself at her, knocking her to the ground and shielding her from the searing heat. The air above them was practically boiling. Suddenly Haku's weight disappeared and Chihiro looked up to see him launch himself at the monster like an arrow sprung from a taught bow. He flew straight through the flames, jaws snapping, and managed to actually decapitate the creature's head. It regenerated immediately, but the fire screamed as if he'd hurt it.

Haku circled back around to face the demon head on. The wooden floor beneath his talons was weeping smoke, but he didn't seem to take notice of it. A deafening snarl ripped from his chest, sending goosebumps up Chihiro's arms and making the hair at the back of her neck stand on end. The smoke was making her eyes water too much to see clearly what was happening anymore, and she rubbed at them desperately while her ears strained to hear.

There was the sound like a great rushing wind, along with another snarl, she thought from Haku.

The heat around her lessened, and she could hear the crackling fires dying as they were snuffed like candles. She blinked, and could see tiny glowing orbs all around her growing dimmer. She also sensed that, as the fire fled, the room's remaining oxygen seemed to depart with it. Suddenly, surprisingly, a black curtain stole away all other thoughts and left her drifting on a sea of sickly, dizzying silence.

The first thing Chihiro felt was a soft, summer breeze tickling her bare toes. It had a slight bite to it, like a fall breeze, but the sun washing over her face and arms evaporated all thought of colder seasons. Next, she became aware that someone was gently stroking her hair back from her forehead.

"Chihiro?" After a second's pause, the deep male voice laughed quietly, without humor. "I feel like I've been calling your name a lot, lately." He said the words almost to himself.

Chihiro twitched, and couldn't suppress a groan as her brain was hauled back fully into consciousness.

"Haku?" she mumbled as she blinked her eyes open. His face above hers was slightly out of focus, but she had no doubt that it was him. She smiled sheepishly. "I feel like I've been saying your name a lot, too."

"Oh my God, you're alive." He immediately pulled her tightly up against him, as if he had actually been doubting the fact for a few moments.

Chihiro peeped over his shoulder. "We're on the roof?" She croaked in confusion. Her throat was bone-dry. That small sentence brought on a fury of coughing, and she doubled over on roof's warm orange clay, gasping, until it was over.

"Oh my gosh!" She sputtered once she could talk again. She jerked into a standing position. Her massive brown eyes turned on Haku. "Where's that monster? What happened?! Haku…" She choked off and began coughing again. Her knees trembled violently as she felt Haku lowering her back to the roof tiles.

"Don't worry – he's gone." He spoke forcefully. "But he will be back." After a moment, her coughing stopped.

"You fainted, so I brought you up here to get some air." Haku said as he turned her head and back to him and wiped the tears (a result of her watering eyes) from her cheeks. Even half-asphyxiated, Chihiro was not safe from the shivers that seemed to dance up and down her spine whenever he touched her.

His expression was tense, like he was concentrating on a difficult math problem. His eyes would dart to her face and shoulders then back to her cheeks, like hands feeling for breaks after a fall. _He's probably seething_, she thought, inwardly cringing. She had lied to him, spoken to Yubaba about his personal business without telling him, and almost gotten herself killed. In fact, she would have definitely been killed, if he hadn't shown up. Her lower lip trembled, but she raised her eyes bravely.

"Haku, I…"

"Don't even say it."

Chihiro's chin snapped up. "Huh? What?"

Instead of anger or accusation, Haku was regarding her with sorrow – regret, even. He slowly shook his head.

"Don't apologize, if that's what you were going to do. It's my turn this time."


End file.
